ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Friday informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources that suspects in the Sui lady doctor assault case had been arrested and would be sent to Karachi for identification by the victim.

The committee was told that the tribunal inquiring into the incident had recorded statements of the employees of the PPL and security personnel. It would soon record the statement of the lady doctor and the suspects.

The NA committee was told that the time given to the tribunal headed by a judge of the Balochistan High Court for completing the probe had been extended by 15 days.

In a presentation to the committee by the managing director of the PPL and senior officials of departments concerned, it was said that blood samples of the suspects had been sent to laboratories for DNA test and "their reports would be received soon". However, later in the day, an official said that the DNA test report had been received by the authorities which said that the samples recovered from the site of the incident did not match those of any of the 13 suspects, including Captain Hammad of the Defence Security Guard (DSG).

During its briefing to the NA committee the PPL management said that the district nazim of Dera Bugti had raised the issue by writing letters to senior officials on January 3 alleging that the lady doctor had been raped.

The nazim alleged that three to four personnel of the Defence Security Guards (DSG) were seen coming out of the lady doctor's house. The PPL management told the committee it had received a copy of the letter on January 5.

The PPL management said that on January 4, a DSG officer, Captain Hammad, was named as being involved in the incident. On the same day, the PPL said, the SHO Sui inspected the place of the incident and took away certain items of evidence.

The PPL management said that the lady doctor had been moved to Karachi on the night of January 4-5 "due to concern about her health and security, for specialist treatment and (for) being close to her family".

The presentation by the PPL suggested that the lady doctor was under immense pressure and severely traumatized in Sui where she did not even want to lodge an FIR or complaint with the local police. After having been moved to Karachi, she stated that she might get an FIR registered after consulting her husband who was, at that time, out of the country.

The PPL management told the committee that the Sui SHO was given the Karachi address of the victim on January 7, two days after she had been moved. The same day (January 7) the manager Sui informed the police authorities and the DCO of Dera Bugti about the incident as stated by the lady doctor.

The PPL management claimed: "There is no truth in media reports and police statements alleging that the PPL management has concealed evidence and has not cooperated in investigations."

It may be mentioned that report of the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on the Sui incident placed before the Senate on February 10 observed that "the PPL management at site was not only incapable but was also misdirected in handling the issue".

The Senate committee report by chairman of the committee, senator Dilawar Hussain, and six other senators, blamed the PPL management for not informing the local police in time which the company management should have done immediately in any case.

"The victim for no justifiable reason was kept away from police on ground of her unstable condition," said the report. According to the Senate committee report, three officials of the PPL and two other persons had been apprehended in the case.

The accused in the case are: Captain Hammad, Subedar Abbas, Sepoy Asif Ali, Sepoy Khushal Khan, Havaldar Rafiq, Sepoy Malik Khan and Sepoy Umar Farooq of the DSG and PPL employees Pervez Jamoola, Muhammad Usman, Mohammad Ali, Sikander Ali Jatoi and Asghar Ali. Another accused has not been identified.