SAHIWAL: An 18-year-old girl from village 53/12-L in Chichawatni tehsil, who was kidnapped, raped, and later sold to a prostitution ring in Sindh, managed to escape after 40 days and returned home on Tuesday.
According to police, the victim, identified as ‘Z’, was abducted on August 20, 2025, while returning home from cotton-picking in a nearby village. Two men from her own village, armed and on a motorcycle, allegedly forced her away.
She told police that the suspects locked her in an abandoned house and repeatedly raped her. Later, they drugged her, and when she regained consciousness, she found herself being moved in a car. Eventually, she was handed over to another suspect, identified as ‘G’, in Umerkot’s Dhagri village. She said her abductors sold her to him for Rs200,000.
‘G’ allegedly ran a brothel and forced her into prostitution. She said she was repeatedly abused by him and other men during her captivity.
On September 27, while being transported to Hyderabad, the car carrying her got stuck in traffic. Taking the chance, she escaped and called for help. As people gathered, suspect ‘G’ fled. A passer-by lent her a phone, through which she contacted her family. She was later recovered by her cousin and uncle and brought back home.
Police registered a case on Wednesday after her uncle, Ghulam Abbas, lodged a complaint. The FIR includes charges under sections 375-A and 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as clauses from the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018.
A police official said the girl’s medical examination was underway. He added that the victim told investigators about a criminal network in Punjab and Sindh that abducts and sells young girls for prostitution.
District Police Officer (DPO) Rana Tahir confirmed that one suspect has been arrested but denied the allegations. Investigations are ongoing.
The girl’s family claims they had reported her disappearance to Okanwala Bangla police on August 21, but no FIR was filed at that time.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that one of the suspects had already been named in a separate honey-trap case in Fatehsher police station.
(Published in Dawn, October 2, 2025)