Gives investigators more time to recover guns, cash and other alleged assets
A court judge on Thursday granted the police an additional four days of physical custody of three suspects allegedly involved in the abduction and rape of two foreign women, accepting the investigative body’s request to complete the recovery of weapons and other assets.
Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood passed the order after Defence-C Police produced suspects Rizwan, Nawaz and Nasir before the court after the expiry of their earlier five-day physical custody.
During the hearing, the court asked the prosecution what recoveries had been made from the suspects during the previous remand.
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The public prosecutor informed the court that weapons had been recovered from the suspects Rizwan and Nasir. The investigating officer stated that the weapon allegedly used by the suspect Nawaz was yet to be found.
The investigating officer further claimed that the police should also recover cash, jewelery and a wristwatch allegedly linked to the offence, and sought further remand of the suspects to conclude investigations.
After hearing the arguments, the court approved the prosecution’s request and handed over the three suspects to the police with another four days of physical custody.
The suspects are accused in a case registered for the alleged abduction and rape of two foreign women.
The case
The case was registered at Defence-C police station after two foreign women alleged that they were abducted and sexually assaulted.
The victim said the women traveled to Pakistan after being invited by an acquaintance they had met in Singapore in October 2025. She added that on June 29, they were abducted by an acquaintance and four accomplices who demanded money for their release. The complaint contained additional allegations of repeated sexual assault, threats at gunpoint, physical abuse and extortion.
A statement from the Lahore Police said that an emergency call was received through the Punjab Emergency Helpline after the father of one of the women, who was in the Netherlands, reported the alleged kidnapping.
Following directions from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the Lahore Police launched an operation using Safe City surveillance to trace the suspects. The statement added that the two women were recovered within about two hours, while four suspects were arrested. Police said the raids are continuing to apprehend the remaining suspects.
Also read: Lahore court grants five-day physical remand to four in alleged case of violence against foreign women
Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Faisal Kamran 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.
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. “The family would certainly have asked the suspect to surrender,” 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.
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.
