PAKISTAN: Young Hindu was abducted from police station by a religious mob and his whereabouts are unknown. Police refuse to investigate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 17, 2011 -- Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-097-2011
Full appeal: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-097-2011

17 May 2011


ISSUES: Forced conversion; abduction; missing; rape; religious minority
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young Hindu scheduled cast man was abducted by a mob of hundreds of persons from a police station. The police stopped further investigation because of the involvement of a powerful religious group. Since his abduction on May 12, his whereabouts are unknown. This is the second time he was abducted. He was previously abducted by a group of local religious leaders including the leader of the mosque and kept in their custody, allegedly for nine months. The victim alleged that he was raped during his captivity and forced him to convert his religion by signing plain papers.

The high police officers of the district Mirpurkhas, Sindh have told the family members, leaders of the Hindu community and the lawyers that they could not do against the mob as there were chances of riots. Since then police have stopped the investigation into the case.

Instead of arresting the perpetrators police have arrested victim’s father and his two maternal uncles on the charges of abduction on the application of the Mosque leader. The mother and other family members are in hiding.

Please send the urgent appeal to the authorities to recover the young man and arrest the perpetrators for forcibly converting a religious minority person through sexual abuse.


CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Mohabat Mal son of Veero Mal, resident of Darhio Colony, opposite Tahir Hotel, Ring Road Mirpurkhas, Sindh province, was pursued by a group of Muslim religious leaders of the Madani mosque, Mirpurkhas, on August 13, 2010, the first day of holy month of Ramadan, to change his religion as they wanted to arrange his marriage with a girl from the Muslim community and would also provide a good social status as he was from Dalit community, a scheduled cast section of the Hindu religion. Mohabat Mal went along with Maulvi Ahtesham Patham, the leader of the mosque and his two accomplices, Maulvi Iftekhar Punjabi and Maqsood Punjabi. The victim was forced to sign the plain papers for his conversion. After some resistance from him the man was locked in the house of Ahtesham, adjacent to the mosque.

On April 4, 2011 he managed to run away from their custody and reached his house where he told his parents that he was abducted and sodomised by the Mosque leader and he was forced to sign plain papers and was declared as Muslim. The parents tried to file a complaint in the police station but some policemen informed the mosque leader. The mosque leader with more than 100 persons attacked his house and threatened the parents that they would face more trouble if they ever try to file the case. In the meanwhile Mohabat Mal contacted one Hindu community based human rights organization at Hyderabad, 70 kilometers from his city, the Mirpurkhas, to help him. The organization managed a lawyer who prepared a petition for Sindh High Court, Hyderabad, against his forced conversion of religion and his rape during his nine months of captivity. One day before the filing of the petition more than hundred people under the leadership of Pathan and other perpetrators attacked his house in Mirpukhas and the family was made hostage. The family was forced to contact Mohabat to surrender himself to them. The family also contacted police and police officials including the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Satellite Police Station, Mirpurkhas. Inspector Javed Pathan, assured the family that if victim surrender to the police then they will take him before the session court and record his statement. On police assurance he was contacted the next day by the parents to come to the house and present himself to the police. At this time he was at the high court to file the petition against the rapist and abductors but he left quickly to attend his family and record his statement. On the same day, May 12, he went to police station where a big mob amounting to hundreds of people were gathered outside. The police took him inside the police station to record his statement before producing him in session’s court. Mosque leader, Ahtesham Pathan, delivered a fiery speech outside the police station and suddenly the mob entered the police station and took him out by passing overhead from hand to hand.

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Full appeal: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-097-2011

abduction     disappearances     forced conversion     pakistan     Rape Victim     religious minorities