NOWSHERA: Councillor complains of being stripped
DAWN By Our Correspondent
NOWSHERA, Aug 23: A woman member of Pir Payaee union council has alleged that she and her friend were stripped by two men belonging to a notorious gang to punish them for lodging a complaint against them in a rape case.
Speaking at a press conference at her residence here on Sunday, councillor Kulsoom Bibi said her friend Rubina had complained to her that two men, Javed and Ropal, sons of Fazal Malik alias Gonga Qasab, had forcefully entered her house and criminally assaulted her about three months ago.
She said she took Rubina to Fazal Malik and complained to him about the incident. Later, Javed and Ropal came to her house and told her that they wanted to settle the matter with Rubina.
Kulsoom Bibi claimed that they insisted that the settlement would be made in the presence of their father Fazal Malik at their house. However, she alleged, when they went to their house the following day, members of "Gonga gang" forced them to put off their clothes, and when they refused they stripped them naked. Later, she said, the gangsters wrote their names and addresses on their bodies and also made a video film.
She said they had to pay Rs30,000 to the sons of Gonga Qasab to secure their release. After her release, Kulsoom Bibi said, she moved to Islamabad along with her eight children and decided to keep quiet.
In Islamabad, she claimed, she sought the help of elected representatives belonging to the Nowshera district. However, all of them advised her to reach a settlement with the 'Gonga gang' to save her life as they were dangerous people. Later, she returned to Pir Payaee.
Kulsoom Bibi said she reported the matter to the police but no action was taken against the gang who had criminally assaulted many women of the village. She said people of the area were reluctant to speak against the gang out of fear for their life as Gonga Qasab and his sons and nephews had let loose a reign of terror in the area.
She said that instead of extending her any help, representatives of the district and tehsil councils and the police advised her to strike a deal with Gonga Qasab.
The councillor said three of the gangsters were arrested a week back but they managed to get bail. She alleged the criminals had dishonoured many married women of the village but their menfolk were keeping quiet out of fear.
The SHO of Azakhel police station, who was also present on the occasion, told newsmen that Gonga Qasab, his five sons and nephews had terrorized the village to an extent that nobody was ready to testify against them.
He said the police had raided the house of Gonga Qasab many times during the past two months and also arrested his three sons and seized a Kalashnikov from them. Two other sons of Gonga Qasab had been declared proclaimed offenders, he added. He urged the people to cooperate with the police so that the criminals could be brought to justice.
(
http://www.dawn.com/2004/08/24/local34.htm)");
