Date of incident: 9 December 2010

Place of incident: Digri town, Mirpurkhas district, Sindh province

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the rape of a lady health worker by a police
informer and his accomplices and the support that the police are providing to the perpetrators.
I am appalled to know that a lady health worker of government of Sindh was raped by the police
informer and gangsters but police have taken no action and not a single man was arrested on the
rape charges. The two accomplices of the accused person are free and threatening the victim.
The high police officials including DPO are using their official positions to influence the victim to
withdraw her case against the perpetrators. This is very shameful act by the police whose duty is
to protect the citizens from crime.
Rehana Malik, 30, a lady health worker at Civil Hospital, Digri town, Mirpurkhas district, Sindh
province, also an employee of the health department of the government of Sindh, was raped in
her house while her husband was out for his daily job. On December 9, 2010 at 8 pm three police
informers and gangsters entered her house, locked her children in a room and one gangster,
Gulzar Arain, who is known to run a drug den, overpowered and raped the victim with the help of
two police informers, Shahid Jat and Shoukat Jat. The attackers also injured her during the rape
and stole Rs. 85,000. (USD 1000) and jewelry of the same amount. The perpetrator, Arian raped
her while the two accomplices held her hands and legs for the rape. After the rape the attackers
threatened her that if she went to the police she would be raped in an open place.
However, after the incident she went to Digri police station at 9.30 pm where she was told by the
station house officer (SHO), Mr. Zulfiqar Khoso that as it was night nobody could record her
statement and to come back the next day. She returned and spent the whole next day trying to
file her report but in the evening was told that she should go back to home and the police station
would send someone to see her. In the meanwhile news of the rape was reported in the media.
The police telephoned her to come the house of Haji, an influential person of the town. There she
found that police officials were also present. Haji and police officials pressured her to accept Rs.
10,000 (USD117) as compensation which she refused. One of the police officials, Munawar, the
assistant sub inspector (ASI) took her signature on a plain paper forcefully saying he would make
an application on her behalf. She asked the police officials to file a case of rape so that she could
have a medical report.
It was only after five days of her rape, on December 13, that the FIR was filed. However, the FIR
only mentioned that it had been an attempted rape. The report that Rehana had made mentioned
that the accused person, Arain, actually raped her but this version was rejected by the SHO. The
police cleverly deleted the names of the two other police informers from the FIR. She was given
permission to have her medical checkup but as per their intention, any evidence of the assault
had then been lost. On December 14, the SHO of Digri police station visited her house and
pressured her to withdraw the case of rape against the perpetrators otherwise she would face
problems for her family. On January 21, 2011, a human right activist, Hasrat Leghari, had written
an application on behalf her to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the president, the prime minister and
other authorities. On February 22, she was asked to come to police station and record her
statement. But once again the police refused to take her statement and created their own. In the
meantime the accused person, Arain, was arrested on the charges of attempt to rape her but the
two police informers were not arrested. An application from the victim was moved to the Session
Court of Mirpurkhas district that the police were providing protection to the perpetrators. On
receiving her application the session judge rejected the bail application of the accused person.
On February 26, Mr. Zulfiqar Mehar, the district police officer (DPO), the highest police officer of
the district, also tried to coerce her to withdraw the case and said she would not get any positive
response in the case. He further told her that the perpetrators would take revenge against her in
the future.
I am shocked to know that police are turning the case into attempt to rape just to save the police
informer and drug peddlers. These types of crimes are happening daily in Pakistan because there
is no effort from the government to make reforms in the policing system and make it accountable
in the law. The police find it easy to manipulate the cases in their own favour to save perpetrators.
I urge you to prosecute all the police officials who are turning the case of rape in to attempt to
murder and threatening victim to take back her case. Please also provide security and protection
to the victim and her family and also register a case of rape against the perpetrators.

Yours sincerely,
Arshad sulahri