Lahore motorway rape case: Police complete geo-fencing of villages

LAHORE: Police on Friday completed the geo-fencing of the villages surrounding the motorway within a five-kilometre radius where a mother of three was raped earlier this week, sparking anger and protest across the nation. 

According to a report in The News, police recovered the gold ring of the woman which was found in the fields where she was reportedly taken and raped in front of her children. The attackers had taken Rs100,000 cash and other valuables of the victim with them while fleeing.

A special investigation team (SIT) visited the crime scene on Friday and restructured the heinous act. However, the investigators could not find any tangible clue to the culprits.

Lahore Police have completed the criminal profiling of 15 suspects who could be involved in the crime. Police is using both traditional and modern methods to probe the case. A member of the investigation team told The News that DNA [deoxyribo-nucleic acid] samples of suspects are being sent to the Forensic Science Agency. The reports will take some time to match with the victim.

Additional security on Lahore-Sialkot Motorway

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani said that teams of Punjab Highway Patrol (PHP) and Special Protection Unit (SPU) had been deployed for security duties on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway. 

He said the PHP and SPU teams would patrol the motorway 24 hours a day in three shifts, which would ensure safety of lives and property of citizens and help curb criminal acts. 

Reacting to news in a section of the media about the main culprit being arrested, the termed it as "fake news". 

However, the IGP Punjab and Shahbaz Gill said there was no such development, adding that once the suspects would be arrested, they would be presented in front of the entire world. 

The IGP directed Additional IGP PHP Captain (retd) Zafar Iqbal Awan to conduct field visits to inspect and monitor the security arrangements of the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.

Women parliamentarians' delegation call on IGP Punjab to discuss motorway rape case

A delegation of women parliamentarians and civil society members called on IGP Punjab Inam Ghani at the Central Police Office. The delegation consisted of Shaista Pervez Malik, Hina Pervez Butt, Ayesha Raza Farooq, Kiran Daar, Kanwal Liaquat, Sania Ashiq and former MNA Saira Afzal Tarar. 

They apprised the IG Punjab of their concerns over the Gujjarpura incident and said that measures should be taken for protection of women and children in society. The IGP told the delegation about the progress made in the incident and said that police teams had been mobilised day and night to arrest the sexual predators involved in the rape case. “I am personally monitoring the progress from time to time.”

The authorities have short-listed over 70 people with criminal record and their location at the time of the incident was also being monitored. Detectives have also been hired for the inspection of footprints collected from the crime scene.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raja Basharat declared the Motorway rape case a test case for the Police Department and ordered for arrest of the culprits at the earliest.

Originally published in The News