Pakistan gang members accused of extracting girl's spinal fluid without consent arrested by police

Officials believe it could have been sold on black market

Local media initially reported they had extracted her bone marrow (Shutterstock)

Four suspected members of a gang in Pakistan have been arrested on suspicion of extracting women and girls’ spinal fluid before attempting to sell it on the black market.

Police in the northern city of Hafizabad said the father of the 17-year-old victim informed them that a sample had been taken from his daughter by people under the guise of medical research.

Pakistani media reported that the father was offered a monthly fee in exchange for his consent to the girl’s “blood test”.

“Gang members pretended to be from the DHQ hospital,” the head of Hafizabad’s local force was quoted as saying. ”The gang consists of three males and a female.

“We were informed by the victim’s father of her sample being taken on the promise of a dowry package being provided under a government scheme.”

The spinal fluid may be sold to traditional Islamic healers – known as desi hakeems - or homeopaths.

Initial reports suggested the gang had extracted her bone marrow, but a doctor at a local hospital later ruled that out.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Shebhaz Sharif, has intervened, requesting doctors provide the best medical treatment for the victim.