LAHORE:
A lower court on Monday remanded three more suspects in police custody for five days in a case related to the alleged kidnapping and rape of two foreign women.
On Thursday, police rescued two foreign women within hours of receiving an emergency report, 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 police five-day physical remand for 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 remand for further investigation. After hearing the matter, Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Qadoos granted the request and remanded the three suspects in police custody for five days.
The police informed the court that a criminal case had already been initiated against the accused and that their custody was necessary to complete the investigation.
Separately, a district and additional sessions court granted interim pre-arrest bail to Defense Station House Officer-C (SHO) Faryad Ali till July 10 in a case of allegedly threatening a judicial magistrate during the trial.
After hearing the preliminary arguments, the court restrained the police from arresting the SHO until the next hearing. The court also issued a notice to Mustafa Abad police, seeking their response, and ordered the accused to join the investigation by appearing before the investigating officer.
According to the prosecution, the case against SHO Faryad Ali was registered on allegations that he visited the residence of a judicial magistrate and allegedly threatened him during the proceedings of the notorious case related to the alleged kidnapping and rape of two foreign women.
An FIR was later lodged at Mustafa Abad police station for alleged intimidation by the judicial magistrate.
By granting provisional measures, the court made it clear that the accused must cooperate with the investigation in accordance with the law.
Read: Lahore DIG says ‘suspect linked to minister’ treated like any other criminal in foreign women case
One of the suspects is linked to an influential political figure, but Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran assured in a press conference on Sunday that the suspect, 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 kidnapped in Pakistan and that he had received a ransom demand.
“Subsequently, the police launched an investigation using relevant phone numbers, vehicle registration details, travel records and safe city camera footage, while conducting raids in Shahdara, Defence, Sargodha and other areas. Recovery of the women was our top priority,” he said.
Kamran said investigators traced a suspect’s family tree and carried out raids at several locations. “During one such raid, residents of a house informed the police that the suspect’s family had been living there as tenants and were believed to have links to the deputy prime minister. The suspect was later identified as Mohammad Raza Dar,” he added.
He said police verified the information with the suspect’s family, obtained his phone number and began tracking his location.
Read more: 4 arrested for sexual assault on foreign women
“The family would surely have asked the suspect to turn himself in,” he said.
The DIG said senior police and government officials 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 examining the possibility that a gang, rather than a single individual, was involved in the incident.
According to the DIG, the suspect was taking the two women to the airport when an altercation broke out inside the vehicle near Bhatta Chowk.
“During the confrontation, the vehicle collided with an object, after which the women jumped out of the vehicle and sought shelter in a nearby filtration plant, from where the police recovered them safe and sound,” he added.
Kamran said orders from judicial magistrates were needed before medical examination of the women could be carried out.
“As the magistrate was not on duty and the women were scheduled to leave Pakistan the next morning, a police station officer was sent to the magistrate’s residence late at night to obtain necessary orders. I apologize for this,” he said.
Read also: Locals catch foreigners trying to kidnap nomadic girls.
The DIG said the police contacted the Spanish and Dutch embassies after recovering the women. The Spanish embassy informed investigators that one of the women was of Venezuelan nationality.
After consultation with the embassies, the women agreed to undergo medical examinations and subsequently agreed to have their statements recorded before a magistrate under article 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Kamran said the embassies had also requested that the women be repatriated as soon as possible, adding that the police were still investigating all aspects of the case.
