- Title: PAKISTAN: Police in Lahore release sketch of suspected rapist of 5-year-old girl
- Date: 18th September 2013
- Summary: LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ORIGINALLY 4:3 ) (RECENT) (REUTERS) HOSPITAL STAFF AND A SECURITY GUARD WHEELING SUMBUL INTO HOSPITAL A GUARD WATCHING MEDICAL STAFF LIFTING SUMBUL INTO AMBULANCE
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA2WDK3QR1EQJPAW01OXSFV4XS3
- Story Text: A forensics laboratory in Lahore on Tuesday (September 17) released the sketch of a man seen carrying a five-year-old rape victim inside the premises of a local hospital where she was later found in a critical condition.
The sketch was prepared with the help of closed-circuit television footage from the hospital cameras.
Sumbul, the young victim who lived in a poor neighbourhood of Lahore, went missing on Thursday (September 12) when playing outside her house. Nearly 23 hours later, she was found dumped outside the Sir Ganga Ram hospital after being raped multiple times and mutilated.
Protests erupted in Lahore and the capital Islamabad after CCTV footage emerged on Saturday (September 14), showing a man carrying the little girl wearing a white dress through the premises of the Sir Ganga Ram hospital and sitting her down on a roadside kerb, before walking out of the hospital gate.
The CCTV footage later shows a group of women talking to the child and walking off with her.
Doctors at the hospital said Sumbul was in intensive care, and was being kept sedated because she cried every time she woke up.
"We have strong clues and our teams are close (to a breakthrough). God willing, they will reach the culprit soon. We have also got help from the CCTV footage," a police official told reporters on Monday (September 17).
Another police official, who is working with the investigation team, told reporters that three men who resemble the man in the sketch, have been apprehended by them. But they cannot be taken to hospital for the identification procedure because the rape victim was not yet ready for the process due to her mental condition.
Meanwhile, dozens of human rights activists and citizens protested in Islamabad against the delay in finding the rapists of the little girl.
"We demand that the police capture these rapists, the pedophiles who are raping little girls and little boys all over Pakistan. Why can't our police find them? Because the police are very, very corrupt. That is why the police can't find them," said prominent human rights activist Tahira Abdullah.
Others complained that laws meant to protect vulnerable children and women were not being enforced, making it difficult for victims to get justice.
"There are main two reasons. One is, we are living in living conditions which are de-humanising people. And the second thing is, there is a breakdown of rule of law in this country, and there is a culture of impunity. So that encourages the criminal mindset to commit crimes and thinking they'll get away with that," said Farzana Bari, a women's rights activist and director of gender studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.
Some protesters said the environment in courts is hostile and anti-women for rape victims, and the government was not taking concrete steps to implement laws like the Child Protection Bill that has been pending for the last 10 years.
"Violence against women and religious minorities can only be addressed through a Task Force-like set up. The government should set up a Task Force and it should be fast. There should be more police stations, there should be more women police personnel, and there should be vigilance centres. There should be some concrete measures by the government," said Naeem Mirza, member of 'Aurat Foundation', an NGO which deals with violence against women and minorities.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also voiced alarm over growing violence against women in Pakistan.
A statement from the HRCP said police had registered 113 cases of rape from January 1 to August 31 this year. Over the same period, police in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, had registered 32 gang-rape cases.
"According to media monitoring by HRCP, until the end of July this year, at least 44 women had become targets of acid attacks, seven of whom had died as a result of their injuries. As many as 44 women had been set on fire; 11 had died in such attacks. As many as 451 women had been killed in Pakistan in the name of honour in 2013 by the end of July, compared to 918 killed in 2012," the statement read. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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