All 29 suspects of revenge rape of girl apprehended, SC told

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that all 29 suspects booked for their involvement in revenge rape of a teenage girl to settle the score of an earlier rape, have been arrested.

Multan police submitted a report, informing the bench that the primary suspect – who raped the girl as punishment for another incident of rape allegedly committed by her brother, was also nabbed.

As the report of Panchayat (village council) ordering the revenge rape in Multan’s Muzaffarabad locality hit headlines, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken notice of the incident and summoned a progress report from the local police.

According to police, a man – whose identification not disclosed – approached the council and complained that his 12-year-old sister had been raped by his cousin.

“The panchayat had ordered the rape of a 16-year-old girl as punishment, as her brother had raped a 12-year-old,” said Allah Baksh, a local police official..

The incident occurred earlier this month in the neighbourhood of Raja Ram in Muzaffarabad, a suburb of the central city of Multan, investigators told media.

The council then ordered the complainant to rape the sister of the accused in return, Baksh said — an order which was duly carried out.

The allegations were confirmed by Rashid Thaheem, the police officer heading the investigation.

“Both the parties had filed cases of rape against each other at the local police station after the incident that happened last week,” Thaheem further said.

A panchayat was involved in one of South Asia’s most infamous case of sexual violence against a woman when, in 2002, it ordered the gang rape of a woman called Mukhtar Mai after her brother was falsely accused of rape.