Lahore police file case as YDA, hospital staff protest against 5-year-old girl’s alleged rape

The Lahore police registered a case on Tuesday after the staff of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the Young Doctors Association (YDA) alleged that a five-year-old girl was raped on the facility’s premises.

Dr. Shoaib Niazi, the president of the Punjab YDA, and Dr. Azam Saeed, the president of the hospital’s YDA branch, spearheaded the demonstration. The Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU) personnel and students participated in the march as well.

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“There has been an incident of rape/attempt of rape on the premises of SGRH Lahore, which was pushed under the carpet by the administration,” the protestors’ demands paper stated. It was reported that the victim was a five-year-old kid.

“Transparency and an inquiry into the matter are demands made by the FJMU/SGRH students. The pupils also want a response from the administration for their illegal silence. Such instances pose serious concerns for the hospital management if they are hushed up and kept quiet.

The demonstrators asked, among other things, that a first information report (FIR) be filed and that any subsequent actions in the matter be made transparent.

Meanwhile, the girl was sleeping in a hallway with her mother when a sanitary worker “touched” her at two in the morning, according to Dr. Hafiz Moinuddin, the hospital’s medical superintendent, who spoke with Dawn.com.

He claimed that when the girl cried and startled her mother, a number of medical staff members immediately gathered. The sanitary worker was subsequently apprehended and brought to the security room, where the security officer in charge reported the suspect to the police.

According to Dr. Moinuddin, the sanitary worker was not employed by the hospital and was let go by the hiring firm after the occurrence.

He declared that mismanagement would not be tolerated and that extra precautions were being taken by the hospital administration to ensure the safety of patient attendants.

Under Sections 376 (punishment for rape), 509ii (insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment), and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for a shorter term) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the FIR was filed at the Civil Line police station in response to a complaint made by Sub-Inspector Saleem Raza.

Later on in the FIR, sections 376 and 511 were added. Notably, there was no reference of rape in the FIR’s language.

According to the police report, they were notified upon arrival that the suspect, a hospital sweeper, was surrounded by others when the girl made noise. The police had received a complaint alleging that a suspect had harassed a woman’s kid on the third floor of the hospital.

Social media videos of protests showed people denouncing the FIR, claiming it minimized the tragedy, and criticizing officials for allegedly covering it up to quiet the victim’s relatives.