By: M. Waqar Bhatti
Karachi: A teenage girl was raped and pushed off a second-floor balcony in Defence on Monday in an attempted murder case.
Police described the suspect as a “habitual rapist”, who threw the girl down from his apartment in Phase II, Defence, after raping her. The girl suffered serious head and backbone injuries.
The man, identified as Khalid Baloch, has been arrested.The girl was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in an unconscious state, where doctors confirmed she was sexually assaulted.
Scans of the victim’s body revealed she had sustained multiple fractures in the backbone owing to her fall. Her CT scan was being examined by experts. Dr Seemin Jamali, the JPMC deputy executive director, confirmed the girl was raped and was being treated for her injuries.
Taking notice of yet another rape in the city, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah directed provincial police chief Shahid Nadeem Baloch to submit a report on the incident within 24 hours. In turn, the Sindh IGP directed Karachi AIG to submit the preliminary investigation report to him at the earliest.
SSP South Munir Shaikh told The News that the rape survivor in her initial statement had said she was lured by the man at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine, who then took her to his residence where he raped her.
The girl, who looks to be between 18 and 20 years of age, said she was thrown off the balcony after she raised hue and cry.Police claimed to have arrested the alleged rapist, who owned the apartment also. The man was out on bail in another rape case in Defence registered in 2010.
“Baloch is a habitual rapist,” Shaikh claimed. SP Clifton Sarfaraz Nawaz said residents of Sunset Lane 2 in Phase II, Defence, had informed the police helpline Madadgar 15 that a girl was trying to jump from an apartment balcony. By the time police reached there, the girl was lying on the ground unconscious. “The victim had no clothes on so the people had covered her with cloth sheets.”
Nawaz confirmed he had been arrested by the Defence police in 2010 on rape charges but was released on bail.Baloch is a travel agent and hails from Turbat, Balochistan. Police were trying to ascertain the circumstances in which the victim arrived at the suspect’s residence.
Rubina Qaimkhani, a legislator of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), went to the Jinnah hospital to inquire about the rape survivor.Later outside the hospital, she told the media that she would raise the issue of growing incidents of sexual violence in the provincial assembly.
Qaimkhani called for trying such criminals in anti-terrorism courts and sentencing them to harshest possible punishments.
Monday’s rape was the fifth such case in Karachi in recent weeks.On September 26, the body of a teenage girl, who had been raped, was found from the beachfront. The victim was abducted from her school two days earlier by a couple, who later killed the victim after they could not get the ransom money from the family of the girl.
Two days later, another rape case of a minor emerged as a six-year-old girl was raped on the rooftop of a dispensary in Orangi Town allegedly by her cousin. Another teenage girl was raped by four men in Mehmoodabad on the same day.On October 11, a college student was abducted by a rickshaw driver on her way home. The girl was later raped and thrown away in Defence in an unconscious state.
MQM condemns rise in rape cases
Karachi: The women wing of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has condemned the rape and attempted murder of a girl in Defence. The rapist allegedly tried to kill the victim by pushing her off the balcony of his apartment on the second floor.
In a statement, the MQM showed concern over the rising incidents of sexual assaults in Karahci at a time when the targeted operations against criminals were also going on.
The party said that these incidents should also alarm the government. Another rape had occurred in Defence a few days ago but the perpetrators had still not been arrested.
The MQM demanded an immediate action from Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah against criminals who had assaulted the girl and tried to kill her. The rapist should be prosecuted according to the law and awarded harsh punishment, the party demanded.
