LAHORE:
A magistrate’s court on Monday remanded three more police suspects for five days in a case involving the alleged abduction and rape of two foreign women.
Police on Thursday rescued two foreign women within hours of receiving a distress call, arrested four suspects and launched an investigation into allegations of kidnapping, ransom demands and sexual assault. Those presented today were the second group of suspects presented to court in the case. On July 3, Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood in Lahore had granted the police five days of physical custody of four previously arrested suspects, identified as Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sajid Ali and Sikandar Khan.
During the hearing of the case, the police produced the three accused – Rizwan, Nawaz and Nasir – before the court and sought their physical custody for further investigation. After hearing the case, Additional Magistrate Abdul Qadoos granted the request and remanded all three suspects in police custody for five days.
The police informed the court that a criminal case had already been registered against the accused and that their custody was required to complete the investigation.
Separately, an Additional District and Sessions Court granted interim pre-arrest bail to Defence-C Station House Officer (SHO) Faryad Ali till July 10 in a case for allegedly threatening a trial judge during the case.
After hearing preliminary arguments, the court restrained the police from arresting the SHO till the next hearing. The court also issued a notice to the Mustafa Abad police seeking its response and directed the accused to participate in the investigation by appearing before the investigating officer.
According to the prosecution, the case against SHO Faryad Ali was registered over allegations that he visited a magistrate’s residence and allegedly threatened him during the proceedings of the high-profile case involving the alleged abduction and rape of two foreign women.
An FIR was subsequently lodged at the Mustafa Abad police station over the alleged intimidation of the trial judge.
While granting interim measures, the court made it clear that the accused must cooperate with the investigation in accordance with the law.
Read: Lahore DIG says ‘ministerial-linked suspect’ treated like any other criminal in foreign women cases
One of the suspects is related to an influential political figure, but Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran assured a media briefing on Sunday that the suspect, who is allegedly linked to a senior government minister, will not be treated differently from any other criminal in the investigation.
The case
According to Lahore DIG, the two foreign women arrived in Islamabad on June 26 before traveling to Lahore on June 29.
On Sunday, he said that around midnight on July 1, the Safe City Authority received information from a man identified as Carlos who reported that his daughter had been abducted in Pakistan and that he had received a ransom demand.
“Police subsequently launched an investigation using the relevant phone numbers, vehicle registration details, travel records and footage from city security cameras while conducting raids in Shahdara, Defense, Sargodha and other areas. The recovery of the women was our top priority,” he said.
Kamran said investigators traced a suspect’s family tree and conducted raids at various locations. “During one such raid, residents of a house informed the police that the suspect’s family had previously lived there as tenants and are believed to have links with the Deputy Prime Minister. The suspect was later identified as Mohammad Raza Dar,” he added.
He said police confirmed the information with the suspect’s family, obtained his phone number and began tracking his location.
Read more: 4 arrested for sexual assaults on foreign women
“The family would certainly have asked the suspect to surrender,” he said.
The DIG said senior police officials and the government had been informed after investigators discovered the suspect’s alleged links to a senior political figure. “We received strict instructions from the government that he should not be treated differently from any other criminal,” he said.
He added that investigators were also looking into the possibility that a gang, rather than an individual, was involved in the incident.
According to DIG, the suspect was driving the two women to the airport when an argument broke out inside the vehicle near Bhatta Chowk.
“During the scuffle, the vehicle collided with an object after which the women jumped out and took refuge at a nearby filtration plant from where the police found them safe,” he added.
Kamran said the judges’ orders were necessary before the women’s medical examination could be carried out.
“Since the judge was not on duty and the women were scheduled to leave Pakistan the following morning, an officer from the station house was sent to the judge’s residence late in the evening to get the necessary orders. I regret that,” he said.
Also read: Locals capture foreigners trying to kidnap nomad girls
DIG said police contacted the Spanish and Dutch embassies after finding the women. The Spanish Embassy informed investigators that one of the women was a Venezuelan citizen.
After consultations with the embassies, the women agreed to undergo medical examinations and later agreed to record their statements before a judge under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Kamran said the embassies had also requested that the women be repatriated at the earliest, adding that the police were continuing to investigate all aspects of the case.
