RAHIM YAR KHAN: A 80-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a person in Basti Din Muhammad, in Moza Galore Massu Khan, 55 kilometers from Rahim Yar Khan, on Saturday, the Rukanpur police said.

A resident informed the police that his family left home to join a Muharram procession on July 29, leaving him at home with his mother. During this time, she went to his father’s nearby house to wash clothes when he heard his mother`s cry.

Along with two witnesses, he found the suspect assaulting her in a fodder crop.

The suspect escaped when he saw them. A case was registered against the suspect under section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

CONTROVERSY: A controversy has arisen among citizens regarding the offering of funeral prayers in absentia for Usman Chandia, who was killed by the Indhar Gang dacoits. The funeral prayers were arranged by the District Bar Association on the lawns of the local district press club, who declared Chandia as the hero of Katcha in a post shared in a WhatsApp group. However, some civil society and human rights activists, including Farhan Aamir and Mian Muhammad Asif, criticised the act, saying that Chandia was not only involved in multi-ple criminal cases but was also associated with dacoit gangs and served as a police informer.

According to a journalist, the funeral prayers were requested by the district administration and district police to salvage the reputation of the police amidst claims of the Indhar Gang`s killings.

Bar General Secretary Ahmed Kanjoo said that he was out of the city, and the decision about the funeral prayers of Chandia would be made by the members of the association. As of now, the DBA has not released any official announcement on the matter.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2023