Criminal assault on abducted peasant girl
HYDERABAD, June 22 2006: A teenage peasant girl from scheduled caste Kolhi family was abducted by her neighbour in Kotri and criminally assaulted by many .persons in captivity at Thatta district, her father claims. The girl belonged to a family that escaped bondage of a landlord some time ago and settled in a makeshift camp of ex-bonded labourers called Sikandarabad located near Khuda ki Basi in Kotri.
“Abdullah Shaikh alias Veerji took my daughter from the camp to Thatta 10 days ago pretending that he would arrange employment for her there. But later he told us she had disappeared .and he did not know where she has gone. We kept him followed and rescued her from his captivity in Hajo Kolhi village near Chapa Mori in Thatta district,” 30-year-old father told reporters holding a protest sit-in here outside the press club on June 21 along with the rape victim and a large number of peasants. Relatives told the girl was married some two months ago.
Master Lalji and Lal Khan Pathan, leaders of Azad Hari Union (AZU), the union of freed bonded labourers, led the protesters. Master Lalji told Daily Times that Veerji, who was also an ex-bonded labourer, kept the girl for five days in illegal confinement where according to the victim he and other different persons criminally assaulted her many times. Lal Khan said though the relatives nabbed Veerji and handed him over to the Kotri police the latter did not lodge a rape case rather they released him later. He said the Kotri police also refused to issue letter for medical examination of the girl. The protesters Veerji’s son-in-law Bhooro Mal and Aslam Palari are extending threats to the victim’s family to silence them.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/22/2006
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