PAKISTAN: Police protect perpetrators who poisoned a young man after sexually assaulting him

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 19-year-old tea vender was sodomised and poisoned, and that he later died in hospital. The rapists threw him in the mud after sodomising him, intending that he should die on the roadside. Police have still not arrested any perpetrator; instead, they have provided a room inside the police lockup for them as guests of the police, because they are from the ruling party (PML-N) of the Punjab government. It is said that one of the perpetrators is a candidate for the provincial assembly in the coming elections. The father and the family members of the victim are receiving threatening calls from perpetrators and local police. Even after two months, police have failed to arrest the perpetrators.
CASE NARRATIVE:

In the evening of 1 November 2012, Mr. Aamir Baloch, a 19-year-old tea vender at Yaqoobabad, Boray Wala, Punjab province, was on his way home after work when, suddenly, three people appeared, beat him and took him to an unknown place. At 7.30 pm, a milk-seller took him home on his motor bike and told his parents that he was found in an unconscious condition in the mud of a kiln factory at a village, Chak number 435, which was one and a half kilometers far from his house. When his parents asked about his condition, he told him that he did not remember what happened and then fell down on the bed.

The next day, in the morning, Aamir remembered and weakly, quietly, narrated the story. He was abducted by a notorious gangster from the area, Ali Arselan Chillar, Mazhar Iqbal (activist of PML-N, the ruling party of Punjab province), Abdul Khaliq (a petty contractor) and Irshad Arain (former councilor from PML-N ticket). They abducted and sexually assaulted him before and throwing him into deep mud. As his condition was deteriorating, he was shifted to Taluqa Head Quarter (THQ) hospital, where he died from poisoning.

On the same day, 2 November, the father of the victim, Akram Baloch, filed an FIR against Chiller, Mazhar Iqbal and Irshad Arain under Sections 302 and 337 of the Penal Code for the murder at Saddar police station, Boray Wala. After the registration of the case, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station, Mr. Mian Asghar Shah, came to Baloch’s house and tried to use his influence to get him to withdraw the criminal case against the perpetrators and nominate some other persons, saying that the police can provide the names. After Baloch refused to change the names in the FIR, the police helped the lawyers of the accused persons to get bail before arrest. The courts usually refuse applications for this but this procedure is possible in Pakistan, and powerful persons often get bail before arrest.

During this period, police avoided providing an official letter for autopsy. After several days, police provided a letter that contained a finding that he was poisoned. The rape kit report has not been given by the hospital, as there was huge pressure from the ruling party.

On the receipt of the report about poisoning, the police were compelled to file the cases under Section 337 (to cause hurt); and 302 (murder) against the perpetrators. Police have taken the perpetrators into “custody” and provided them a separate room as the guests of the police.
Ref: Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-002-2013

Date: 3 January 2013

Comments

comments