KOHAT: The body of a minor girl was found in a drain here on Thursday morning.

The postmortem revealed that the three-year-old was sexually assaulted.

The girl’s father told reporters that she had gone missing at around 3pm on Wednesday and her body was spotted in a drain next morning by a man on the way to the fruit and vegetable market.

He claimed that he shifted the body to the KDA Teaching Hospital for postmortem but the woman doctors doing the night shift refused to carry out the examination and asked him to wait until members of the morning shift’s staff showed up.

The man insisted that Dr Sarmat Khan of the morning shift came to work 45 minutes late. He said he even called the medical superintendent but found his mobile number to be switched off.

Postmortem reveals sexual assault

The girl’s father blocked the hospital’s main gate by protesting a sit in. The police turned up and asked him to go inside but he refused demanding that the medical superintendent or a doctor visit him.

Also, the residents blocked the Bannu Road and cleared it only after DIG Tayyab Hafeez Cheema, district police officer Sohail Khalid and deputy commissioner retired Captain Abdur Rehman visited the girl’s house and assured the family of the early arrest of the culprit(s).

They shouted slogans against the administration over the ‘growing’ incidents of sexual assaults against children.

Acting medical superintendent of the hospital Qazi Naveed suspended Dr Iffat Qureshi and Arshia of night shift over refusal to collect the girl’s body for postmortem and directed Dr Sarmat to explain why she came to work late.

When contacted, deputy medical superintendent of the KDA Hospital Dr Hashim Khan said Dr Sarmat conducted the postmortem and found bruises on the girl’s face, chest and knees. He said the postmortem revealed that the girl was sexually assaulted.

The DMS, however, said swab and other reports had been sent to Peshawar for a final report on assault.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2021