KARACHI: A man accused of raping a six-year-old girl in Karachi’s Orangi Town area was arrested on Saturday, a police official said.

Station House Officer (SHO) at Iqbal Market police station, Amjad Kayani, said that he got information that a body of a minor girl was found on the roof of Shaheed-i-Millat Dispensary in Orangi.

On reaching the spot, it was found that the victim was in a semi-conscious state and was bleeding profusely.

“Fortunately, she could respond to questions and informed us who brought her to the roof and where she lived,” said SHO Kayani. It was one of her cousins identified only as Ashraf aged 21 who also happened to be her close neighbour.

On the other hand, the girl’s family had been frantically looking for her everywhere with the help of neighbours. Ashraf, feigning worry, also joined the family in their search, the officer added.

The girl on seeing Ashraf identified him as the rapist in front of her parents, who was beaten by the family members and subsequently taken to the police station.

The girl was eventually taken to a hospital where she was undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, SHO Kayani said, “We’ll take the accused to the court where we are expecting that he is handed a life sentence or at least 10 years in prison.”

In a separate incident, two men accused of raping a sixteen-year-old girl were also arrested by the Mehmoodabad police.

According to a police official, one of the accused persons trapped the girl into believing that he would marry her. But, later, he raped her along with his accomplice.

Rape cases to be tried under anti-terrorism laws

Taking notice of the rising number of incidents of sexual assault, the provincial government of Sindh decided to register these cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Minister for Women Development and Social Welfare Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani told reporters at a press conference. As an additional precautionary measure, only parents would be allowed to fetch their children from schools.

Speaking alongside Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Saira Shahliani at the Karachi Press Club, the minister strongly condemned the incidents. Qaimkhani said the government decided to act on an emergency basis to stop the recurrence of such incidents. She said the government has decided to enact appropriate laws to deal with such deplorable crimes under the Anti-Terrorism Act. She added that stringent punishments were needed to bring such criminals to the book in order to curb violence against minors.

— With additional input from Asif Mehmood in Karachi