The atrocities on minority Hindus continue unabated in Pakistan. On June 16, Thursday, it has been reported that two minor Hindu sisters were raped at gunpoint in the Islamic country’s Punjab province. One of the accused belongs to an influential family in Pakistan.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa took to Twitter Thursday to share a report by DNA on the crime. He Tweeted, “Minorities continue to suffer in Pak: 2 Hindu teenage sisters raped at gunpoint in Punjab province of Pakistan. Pak Police registered a case after a 3-day delay as some influential people of the area reportedly wanted to settle the matter with the victims’ family.”
On the morning of June 5, two sisters, ages 16 and 17, left their home in Bahawalnagar, Fort Abbas, some 300 kilometres from Lahore, to attend a nature call in a nearby field when two men allegedly held them at gunpoint, area police official Irshad Yaqoob was quoted by PTI as saying. The accused, identified as Umair Ashfaq and Kashif Ali, then raped them and fled the scene, the official said.
The girls were taken for a medical test, which confirmed that they were raped, said Yaqoob.
According to reports, the police did not take cognisance of the incident immediately and registered a case only after a delay of three days. The clout and influence of one of the accused, Kashif Ali, are believed to be the reason for the police’s callousness in handling the case.
As per reports, Kashif belongs to an influential family in the area and his family wanted to privately settle the matter with the victims’ family and not take it to court. This is why the police initially delayed in filing the FIR against the accused. However, after three days, an FIR was filed based on the complaint of the girls’ father.
The police arrested one of the accused Umair Ashfaq while the other Kashif Ali used his connections to secure a pre-arrest bail from the court.