EDITORIAL: During the last few days the law enforces in Karachi have shown, once again, that either they are incompetent or are indifferent about resolving such serious cases as abductions, even rape.
On April 16 a 14-year old girl Dua Zehra disappeared from outside her family’s home in Shah Faisal Colony, creating a general sense of anger and dismay. In an apparent bid to evade public criticism and media spotlight on the incident the police at first tried to portray it as a case of elopement, complete with a purported CCTV footage and nikahnama of her marriage.
The girl in the footage turned out to be a different person from Lyari who had left her home of her own free will to wed a boy of her choice. As the footage went viral on social media, the authorities felt constrained to suspend the SHO of the police station concerned.
But for some inexplicable reason the police decided to ignore the complaint of Dua’s father, according to which the suspect was a next-door neighbour who ‘abducted’ the girl and subjected her to ‘rape’. He told the media that the police were not cooperating with him since the alleged culprit was an influential individual.
His claim may or may not be valid, but why the suspect he named was not being investigated is a question that begs to be answered. The police were later reported to have sought the help of intelligence agencies to recover the girl, saying they have technical expertise to solve the case. That confirmed the police force lacks the necessary technical wherewithal as well as proper training to perform its duties.
While Dua’s distraught parents waited for the safe return of their daughter, on Sunday another teenage girl, Nargis, went missing from the Malir area. Her mother believed it was also a case of abduction, and on her urging an FIR was registered against unknown person(s). The same day, another shocking incident took place near the busy Super Highway.
A woman was returning from a shopping centre when two men forcibly entered the rickshaw she was travelling in and abducted her. She later told the police that she was sexually assaulted by her kidnappers.
As if that was not an abominable enough a crime, two lady medico-legal officers (MLOs) at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital refused to conduct her medical examination. One of them excused herself claiming to be unwell while the other simply left saying her duty hours were over. They must be held to account for their irresponsible behaviour.
Timely examination in such cases is of essence. On their part, the police said they are investigating the case “from all angles” and would soon arrest those nominated by the woman and bring clarity to the matter. That though may not be of much help in the absence of an MLO’s report.
The police spur into action only when under public and media pressure, reverting back to business as usual once the news cycle turns to some other stories; they may not be entirely responsible, though, for what they do or not do.
All the above cases highlight the low priority safety and security of ordinary citizens get in the scheme of things of those at the helm. It is about time they paid attention to factors at the back of poor law and order situation, and addressed them in an effective and meaningful manner.
The alleged abductions of the girls took an unusual turn when both of them surfaced in the Punjab last week along with their spouses with whom they claimed before courts of having solemnized marriage with their own free will while the parents of both the girls maintain that they are below 18 years in age and therefore minors.
The law obviously would take its course but what appears as a common factor in both these cases is the contact between the two and their spouses through the internet. Technology has thrown up another challenge that parents must bear in mind while raising children and must engage more actively in their children’s pursuits. They, for example, should be aware of what their children see and hear on the Internet.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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