Honour’ crime: 20 arrested for declaring nine-year-old vani

MULTAN: Police registered cases against 36 people for declaring a nine-year-old girl vani in Mithanwali, Muzaffargarh district on Wednesday. Of these, 20 men were arrested. Police said 30-year-old Shabbo Mandoos* was accused of having an illicit relationship with a 26-year-old woman, also from the Mandoos tribe and daughter of the local tribal chief. They said the woman’s family had called a panchayat and demanded that Shabbo be killed and his property be transferred to the woman’s father. However, Yaar Muhammad, Shabbo’s father, had begged for mercy before a panchayat of 50 men and asked for another punishment instead. The panchayat, headed by Ghulam Akbar Mandoos and Rajhay Khan, had then declared Shabbo’s nine-year-old niece vani and told her father to marry her to the Mandoos woman’s 10-year-old brother. The girl was handed over to the Mandoos family along with 15 acres of land. Someone from the village had informed the police, who had raided Mandoos’s house and recovered the girl. She was handed over to her family. Seetpur Sub Inspector Abdul Shakoor, who had led the raid, also deputed policemen in the captured land. The SI said police had also ensured protection to Shabbo. Some of the men were detained for interrogation and later released. Police said an FIR was registered under Sections 342, 506 B, 148 and 149 of the Child Marriage Act against 36 men nominated by the girl’s father. Station House Officer Abid Shareef told The Express Tribune that 20 men had been arrested. Those arrested did not include the panchayat heads. He said the police were looking for them. Another injustice Separately, in Bhakkar’s Darya Khan tehsil, a seven-year-old girl was declared vani to ‘punish’ her brother for marrying of freewill. Police arrived on the spot on time and rescued the child. Police said Muhammad Imran of Mehrabad Colony had married Razia Bibi of the same locality a few months ago without the consent of her parents. Police said her parents had called a panchayat which declared Imran’ sister vani and ordered her parents to marry her to a man in Razia Bibi’s family. The panchayat also called a prayer leader of the neighbourhood mosque on the spot to solemnise the nikah. However, police arrived at the scene on a tip off and arrested the prayer leader and two other men, who are yet to be identified. Police said cases were registered against 17 people, including the panchayat members. *ALL NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT IDENTITIES Published in The Express Tribune, February 13th, 2014.