KASUR: Hundreds of Sarai Mughal villagers held a protest demonstration on Friday against, what they claimed, police failure to report cases and arrest minor girl rapists.
During the past month, six girls between the ages of 5 and 15 were reportedly raped or exposed to rape attempts.
Panic led the locals to assemble outside the police station of Sarai Mughal and express concern at the increasing number of cases of rape. By positioning burnt tyres and throwing traffic out of gear, the demonstrators also blocked the lane, saying that police neither reported cases nor detained any of the perpetrators.
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Kasur was renowned for such events, when hundreds of kids in the village of Hussain Khanwala were harassed and filmed for blackmailing and extorting money many years earlier. In 2018, prior to the notorious Zainab rape-murder case, seven girls were raped and killed. Last year, four little boys were raped and killed in Chunian.
This child abuse cases gained international coverage and were previously neglected by local police. The police were unable to file charges and prosecute the suspects. Only after protesters took to the streets were the Punjab government and law-enforcement agencies notified.
On Friday, when the number of cases of rape and attempted rape was on the increase and all their appeals and cries fell on deaf ears, the demonstrators said they were living under the shadow of terror. They also said that the suspects remained anonymous when they gave local police CCTV footages that did not take the issue seriously. They said they had been compelled to come out and block the road.
When the rally was in progress, the police reported that a suspected rapist had been arrested. Police also reported that a case of child molestation had already been lodged and five more cases would soon be registered.
DPO Imran Kishwar reached the spot and promised justice for the demonstrators.
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully, but if the suspects were not arrested, they vowed to take to the streets again.
NEW CASES: Two women were reportedly raped while a woman fled the rape attempt on Friday in separate parts of Kasur.
On the pretext of showing her a house for rent on Saddar Dewan Lane, a property dealer reportedly raped a woman.
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In another incident, after taking him to a deserted location near the Pattoki bypass, a man reportedly raped a woman.
A textile mill security guard tried to rape a woman whom he called to the office for a job under the pretext of an interview.
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