Kashmore gang-rape case: Main suspect killed by accomplice, say police

SUKKUR: The prime suspect in the Kashmore gang-rape — wherein multiple men had sexually abused a woman and her child — was killed by an accomplice, police in Larkana said Friday evening, in what comes as the latest development in the horrific case.

According to Larkana's deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police, Nasir Aftab, the main suspect who was arrested following the Kashmore gang-rape — identified as Rafiq Ahmed Malik — was shot dead by an accomplice as police drove him to one of the various suspected locations he had identified earlier.

Kashmore's senior superintendent of police (SSP), Amjad Shaikh, explained that during the interrogation, Rafiq had disclosed some of the locations of Khairullah Bugti, identified as the second suspect in the child abuse case, and demanded that he be taken to catch the absconding man.

As security officers reached the RD-09 police station near Bakhshapur, Bugti opened fire at them from his hideout and killed Rafiq. Police were able to detain the second suspect, Shaikh said, and recovered weapons from his possession.

Read more: Man arrested in gang-rape of minor, mother sent on three-day physical remand

A police officer was also injured during the exchange of fire, he revealed.

DIG Aftab said Rafiq succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital.

In a statement, the Kashmore police said SSP Shaikh launched a "major police operation" in Bakhshapur alongside a heavy contingent of police officials, using modern technology after Rafiq  pointed out the suspected locations of Bugti.

They added that ammunition, including a Kalashnikov and bullets, were recovered from Bugti.

District admin to provide security to mother, daughter

Separately, the Larkana district administration in a statement said it had decided to provide security to the mother-daughter duo who were subjected to sexual abuse.

Police security would be present at the hospital during the minor girl's treatment, the district administration said, adding that they took the decision in light of the death of one of the suspects in the case.

They underlined that they were considering providing security to the two even after treatment.

Woman duped by men with promise of job

Earlier, a young woman from Karachi was duped by three men who took her to Kashmore with the promise of a job. They gang-raped her before selling her to Khairullah Bugti — a member of the gang — while the child remained with the other two.

The woman fled from Bugti's house and reached the local police station to file a complaint, following which, authorities tracked the men to the house where she was gang-raped and recovered the child.

It was then that police had arrested Rafiq, who later confessed to gang-raping the minor girl.