By DPA
Islamabad : Around a dozen men gang raped two women in Pakistan’s Punjab province to avenge a love marriage, the police said Friday.
“The men abducted the women, one of them pregnant, and raped them in a nearby jungle for two days last month in the Rohallanwali area of Muzaffargarh district,” Mohammed Rafi, a police investigator, told DPA in a telephone interview.
The gang was allegedly led by a man identified only as Latif, whose daughter had eloped with the nephew of the two rape victims.
“It seems the accused wanted to take revenge for the loss of their honour,” Rafi said.
The police have filed a case against the accused and are waiting for results of medical reports to determine whether the rape took place.
Romantic relations between unmarried couples are generally viewed as an offence in Pakistan, often resulting in humiliation or physical retribution by parents and relatives.
Muzaffargarh is the same district where Mukhtaran Mai suffered a gang rape of the similar nature in 2002. She was punished for a love affair between her brother and the rapists’ female relative.
After the incident she took her case to court where the culprits were charged and sentenced. She won the 2006 North-South Prize from the Council of Europe in acknowledgement for her courage.