Motorway Rape Case: Suspect Abid Malhi discloses details of how he evaded arrest for a month

LAHORE: Abid Malhi, the prime suspect in the Lahore motorway rape incident, has spilled the beans on how he managed to hide from the police for almost a month before he was finally arrested on Monday evening.

According to police sources, Malhi said he had spent a month travelling through various cities in Punjab using public transport while wearing a mask over his face.

The suspect revealed that he had fled to Nankana Sahib after raping the woman, while his accomplice, Shafqat, escaped to Dipalpur. 

With the police on his trail, Malhi fled from Nankana Sahib to Bahawalpur, where he managed to evade the police once again and avoid recognition by wearing a mask over his face.

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"I travelled through various cities in public transport," the suspect was quoted as saying. 

He was ultimately caught after he ran out of money and was forced to contact his wife.

'Flashing indicators caught our attention'

"Me, Shafqat and Bala Mistri went [to the highway] to commit robberies near Karol village," Abid Malhi said in his statement to the police, according to sources. 

"Mistri did not proceed with us. However, Shafqat and I went towards the jungle in Karol."

Malhi disclosed that he and Shafqat robbed two or three truck drivers on the motorway near Karol village before they came upon the stranded woman.

He said the car's flashing indicators had caught their attention and, upon seeing a woman inside, Malhi told her to come out. 

He said that when the woman refused to come out of the car, he broke the vehicle's window and dragged her outside. 

"After robbing the woman of her watch, jewellery and money, we told her to go down the motorway," he reportedly said. 

"When the woman refused to do so, we took her children off the motorway, and the woman followed to protect them."

Malhi then revealed that the suspects gang-raped the woman when she came down the motorway to secure her children. 

The suspect also revealed that he and his accomplice had fled when the Dolphin Police force arrived while firing shots into the air. 

Arrest made using 'scientific investigative methods': police