19-year-old boy sodomised, poisoned in Burewala
LAHORE: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says it has received information that a 19-year-old tea vender in Burewala was sodomised and poisoned and he later died in hospital in November 2012.
According to a press release issued by AHRC, the rapists threw the victim, Aamir Baloch, in the mud after sodomising him, intending that he should die on the roadside.
Police have still not arrested any perpetrator. Instead, they have provided a room inside the police lockup for perpetrators as guests of the police because they are from the ruling party, PML-N, of the Punjab government, AHRC said. “It is said that one of the perpetrators is a candidate for the provincial assembly in the coming elections. The father and the family members of the victim are receiving threatening calls from perpetrators and local police. Even after two months, police have failed to arrest the perpetrators,” the commission said.
It said that in the evening of November 1, 2012, Aamir Baloch, was on his way home after work when three people appeared, beat him and took him to an unidentified place.
At 7.30pm, a milk-seller took Baloch home on his motorbike and told his parents that he was found in an unconscious condition in the mud of a kiln factory at a village, Chak number 435, which was one and a half kilometres far from his house.
When his parents asked about his condition, Baloch told them that he did not remember what happened and then fell down on the bed. The next day in the morning, Baloch remembered and weakly, quietly, narrated the story. He said he was abducted by a notorious gangster from the area, Ali Arselan Chillar, Mazhar Iqbal (activist of PML-N), Abdul Khaliq and Irshad Arain (former councillor from PML-N ticket). According to AHRC, they abducted and sexually assaulted Baloch and threw him into deep mud. As his condition was deteriorating, he was shifted to Taluqa Headquarters Hospital (THQ), where he died from poisoning. On November 2, the father of the victim, Akram Baloch, filed an FIR against Chiller, Mazhar Iqbal and Irshad Arain under sections 302 and 337 of the Penal Code for the murder at Saddar Police Station, Burewala.
After registration of the case, SHO Mian Asghar Shah came to Baloch’s house and tried to use his influence to get him to withdraw the criminal case against the perpetrators and nominate some other persons, saying that the police can provide the names.
After Akram Baloch refused to change the names in the FIR, police helped the lawyers of the accused persons to get bail before arrest, AHRC said. “During this period, police avoided providing an official letter for autopsy. After several days, police provided a letter that contained a finding that he was poisoned. The rape kit report has not been given by the hospital, as there was huge pressure from the ruling party,” it said. On the receipt of the report about poisoning, police were compelled to file the cases under Section 337 (to cause hurt) and 302 (murder) against the perpetrators. Police have taken the perpetrators into “custody” and provided them a separate room as the guests of the police.
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