Netizens burst in anger over horrific Motorway incident, call for prompt action

The social media users flew into a rage on Thursday and demanded severe punishment for the culprits involved in the disturbing Motorway incident – that has jolted Pakistan and has raised serious questions on the law and order situation on the highway.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when robbers had gang-raped a mother of two on the Motorway within Gujjarpura police's jurisdiction in Lahore.

Urging people to respect and maintain the anonymity of the victim, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said that the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) regional office took prompt action and sought action report from the police officials.

“On the horrific Lahore Motorway entry point gang rape case, MOHR regional office [has] asked for action report from police. FIR copy and progress report is with us at MOHR. I have removed the same from post to avoid sharing details of the victim,” the federal minister wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Expressing disappointment and immense displeasure over the unfortunate incident on Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said that she was heartbroken to hear about the heinous crime.

Read more: Motorway rape case: Punjab police chief says new evidence will help nab suspects soon

“All those involved in this barbaric act must be punished and set a precedent. This is not a trivial matter. Remember, it is the responsibility of all of us to fight oppression and degradation of social values,” the PML-N stalwart said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, other famous personalities including actor Feroz Khan, MNA Amir Liaquat, and Shaniera Akram have also condemned the incident while calling for severe punishments for the evil-doers.

The hashtags #Hangrapists and #Motorwayincident trended top on Twitter in Pakistan where infuriated Twitteratis expressed anger over the fact that the reoccurrence of rape incidents in the past was not enough to wake the authorities.

IGP claim success

Newly appointed Inspector-General of Punjab Police Inam Ghani claimed on Thursday that police have secured “evidence” that will lead them to the culprits in the disturbing motorway rape and robbery case.

“We have done great work so far in the motorway rape case. We have located the village from which the suspects were from,” the IGP revealed while talking to Geo Pakistan.

He also shared that 20 police teams were working on the case and are being overseen by a deputy inspector-general.

Ghani shared that the victim of the heinous crime had provided ages and other identifying features of the suspects.

“Right now, we have a very good clue which will lead us to the suspects directly. However, we cannot share it with the media yet,” Ghani said on the Geo News programme.

He also shared that police have obtained the complete voter list and record from the National Database & Registration Authority of the area where the suspects are believed to have hailed from.

The Punjab police chief shared that they have narrowed down the list suspects to 70 people who fall in the same age bracket as the rapists and who have a past criminal record.

He added that police teams were tracking down the people who fit the profile.

Police also carried out geofencing in the area where the incident occurred and are awaiting the report.