CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh has once again put the blame on the victim during a briefing on Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang rape case. Earlier when the incident happened he blamed the victim and people were furious with his statement. Once again on Monday, he gave a similar statement and the senate human rights panel was displeased with his remarks.
Few weeks ago, a mother with her children ran out of petrol on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway, while they were waiting for help to come, some unidentified individuals appeared and gang raped the mother in front of her children.
On Monday when CCPO was called by committee to share the progress regarding the investigation he shared his “assumptions” and said that the incident took place because the victim (mother) was traveling alone without her husbands permission. Upon hearing this the panel felt annoyed and asked if the victim had said this herself. Sheikh told them that the victim did not say this rather this is his assumption.
The panel disapproved of him giving his own opinions on the matter rather than sharing factual progress about it he suddenly changed his statement and said: “he had been told that the victim had left late at night because she had to talk to her husband on video call”.
He told the committee that the police had identified the persons involved within a week and of the victim; Shafqat Ali Alias Bagga has been caught while the main one is on the run namely Babar Malik.
Although a panel member pointed out that the name of the main culprit is not Babar Malik rather it is Abid Ali but he kept on calling him Babar Malik.
The panel member stated: “Is the main suspect [named] Abid or Babar? You are investigating this case and you don’t know the name of the main suspect,”
