The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) to investigate the case of Tahira, a victim of wani in Bhakkar district, who was gang raped by the family of her husband.
Tahira was allegedly made wani, a custom wherein innocent girls are forced to marry into a rival family or group to settle disputes.
A two-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain heard a constitutional petition filed by Samar Minallah, an anthropologist, who had filmed several documentaries on the custom of wani and swara.
During the hearing, the statement of Tahira was read out in the court wherein she stated that after making her wani, other members of the clan of her spouse gang raped her as revenge.
IGP Habibur Rehman, however, told the court that she was telling a lie and she was not subjected to gang rape.
He told the court that Tahira, while lodging a case on May 3, 2012, stated that she was only subjected to torture by her spouse. He said earlier provisions of forced gang rape were mentioned in the first investigation report (FIR), but withdrawn later due to want of evidence.
The chief justice, however, admonished the IGP, saying besides wani, she was also subjected to gang rape and ordered him to register the gang rape provisions in the case and properly investigate it by providing adequate security to the victim. The IGP stated that the police had so far produced a challan in some 30,000 cases, but never got influenced by the influential. He further said that 11 people were sent behind bars in the case of Tahira. The chief justice observed that due to the failure of police to take prompt action against criminals, people were knocking at the doors of the apex court. He noted that incidents of nose chopping, sprinkling acid on girls etc were on the rise in the country, adding that there was no control on sale of acid. He said police had so far failed in taking action in the cases related to human rights.
During the hearing, all four provinces submitted their reports over the incidents of wani and swara, however, the federal Interior Ministry could not file its report.
The court directed the Interior Ministry to file its report and adjourned the hearing until May 17.
SC orders Punjab IGP to investigate vani case in Bhakkar
