Woman gets pregnant by alleged rape, police waiting for birth of the child to prove

An 18-year-old unmarried girl with mental health challenges was found to be five months pregnant when she went to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) emergency with complaints of abdominal pain on January 20, reports Samaa News.

A doctor sent her for an ultrasound for diagnosis, which revealed that she is about five months pregnant. The family members who accompanied her were shocked.

After being questioned by her relatives, she said that she was raped five months ago by her neighbour, Muhammad Mukhtar, who is a policeman.

The victim recalled the full incident that the accused called her in his house when the victim’s family went to attend a funeral. She said that she was slapped and dragged by Mukhtar into a room where he raped her at gunpoint.

The victim was brought to the medico-legal section of JPMC for examination. A Woman Medico-Legal Officer (WMLO) wrote a report in which she mentioned that it was difficult to prove rape after five months.

The victim’s father filed a case against the accused at the South Woman Police Station on January 24.

The next day, her family members and neighbours gathered outside the police station on Sharah-e Faisal for protest and demanded the arrest of the accused.

Late night on January 25, the accused, Muhammad Mukhtar, surrendered before District South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation-I. The case did not make any further progress even though the accused was arrested.

South SSP Investigation-I, Dr Farrukh Raza, said that WMLO issued a Medico-Legal Certificate which has shown that she is pregnant but it did not mention proof of rape. SSP said, “The police will have to wait for the delivery of the baby to get the forensic evidence.”

“A paternity test will confirm who raped the woman,” he added.