By Abid Mehdi
SIALKOT: The local police on Monday secured 14-day physical remand of an alleged kidnapper-cum-rapist of a bus company’s hostess.
Accused Sarfraz Hussain and his accomplice Irshad Bhatti had kidnapped 20-year-old ‘A’ on Saturday night when she was going home by a company car after doing her duty.
Though Bhatti is still at large, the Hajipura police presented Sarfraz before the court of a special judicial magistrate on Monday.
Sialkot DPO Waqar Ahmad Chohan told Dawn by phone that accused, under the influence of alcohol, had chased a Daewoo company’s car that was going to drop the girl at her home. After blocking the way, they made the driver stop the car at gunpoint. They dragged the girl, bundled her into their car and sped away. The accompanying driver and the guard reportedly did not put up resistance.
The police on Monday also interrogated Daewoo’s guard Muhammad Azam and driver Ashiq Ali. Sources said the guard and driver could not give any satisfactory answers to the questions raised by police investigators.
Hajipura police have meanwhile registered a case (No.86/2010) under section 365-B PPC against the accused on the report of widowed mother of the girl.
Police said that the local management of Daewoo did not submit any application for the registration of case on behalf of the company. The matriculate victim belongs to a poor family and feeds her family comprising mother, two younger sisters and a brother by doing the hostess job.
According to the FIR, both accused kidnappers pushed the hostess in their car (having no registration number) and disappeared in a flash. The accused took her to a fish farm of their friend in Neewa Chora village near Head Marala along the banks of Chenab in Sialkot tehsil where Sarfraz allegedly raped her while co-accused Irshad guarded outside.
The accused later threw the ill-fated ‘A’ near her house in a critical condition. The victim told police about the incident and later led them to the fish farm where she was raped.
The police presented the victim before a special medical board comprising senior doctors of the DHQ Hospital, Sialkot. The medical examination report confirmed that she was raped.
SP (investigation) Ali Javaid Malik said a police team led by Hajipura SHO Malik Nadeem raided the fish farm to arrest accused Sarfraz, but he opened fire on them and then managed to escape from the spot.
A police party patrolling there also chased them, but the fleeing accused fired on them. As a result, the vehicle of the patrol party met an accident on Kulluwal-Head Marala Road which resulted in injuries to four officials, Suleman, Azam, Rizwan and Shahid. They were admitted to the DHQ Hospital where their condition was stated to be critical. However, the Hajipura police party chasing them succeeded in arresting accused Sarfraz.
The SP said the accused also tried to give Rs384,000 in bribe to SHO Malik Nadeem for not arresting him.
The SP said the Head Marala police had registered three cases against accused Sarfraz. He said that another section 376 PPC would be added to the FIR.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/9/2010
