Pakistani man remanded to custody for stripping Hindu woman

A Pakistani man has been remanded to police custody in Sindh province for allegedly assaulting and stripping a Hindu woman, a media report said today.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday night after a case was registered against him under the Pakistan Penal Code for assaulting and using criminal force against the woman.

Police at New Chhor town in Umerkot district yesterday produced the man before a judicial magistrate, who remanded him to police custody for three days, Dawn reported.

The 30-year-old married woman, a resident of Senhoi village near Chhor, had come to visit her mother some days ago for Diwali.

One evening, the woman and her mother went to buy some ornaments when the man followed them. He grabbed the woman by the hair and dragged her. As a result, her shirt tore and fell apart.

In the FIR, the mother said some people intervened and saved her daughter and covered her with a piece of cloth.

The man escaped after abusing and threatening them. He was later arrested.

Minority lawmaker Lal Malhi of the of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, PPP minority legislator Khatumal Jewan, nationalist leader Abdul Wahid Arisar, NGOs and civil society activists condemned the incident and asked authorities to bring the man to justice after a proper investigation.

Umerkot SSP Abdul Qayyoom Pitafi and investigating officer Altaf Shah said local residents had claimed a dispute between over a plot of land might have been behind the incident. However, the woman or her family had nothing to do with the dispute.