Motorway rape case: Police submit challan to Anti Terrorism Court

Police have finally filed a challan to an Anti Terrorism Court in the case of the gang rape of a woman on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway that occurred back in September.

The challan consists of more than 200 pages in which statements from 40 witnesses have been included. The trial of accused Abid Malhi and Shafqat alias Bagga will be held in jail, conducted by Anti Terrorism Court judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta.

According to the challan, Abid Malhi robbed the woman of cash and spent the entire stolen amount which was more than Rs100,000. Malhi spent all the money while he was in hiding.

The stolen gold bangles and ATM card have not yet been retrieved.

The challan further states that accused Shafqat alias Bagga has confessed to the crime and recorded his statement under Section 164, while accused Abid Malhi confessed to the crime before the investigating officer and recorded his statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

It adds that when the woman resisted the rape attempt, the two men threatened to kill the children. Malhi raped the woman twice while Shafqat raped her once. Both their DNA have already matched samples collected from the woman.

The incident

Last year in September, the men, whilst armed, raped a woman stranded with her children on the motorway before robbing her of money and other valuables.

Abid Malhi and his accomplice Shafqat alias Bagga were at the Lahore-Sialkot motorway on September 9 with the intention to rob a motorist when they saw a stationary white-coloured car on the roadside.

The two approached the vehicle, threatened and robbed its occupants, and then gang-raped the woman in front of her children after dragging them to a nearby field.

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The incident sparked protests and anger across the country, raising questions on the overall law and order situation of the country.

Shafqat was arrested first, in September, and after his DNA samples matched samples taken from the crime scene, he was remanded into police custody.

A month after evading police, Malhi, the prime suspect, was arrested from Faisalabad in October.

How did police manage to catch the prime suspect?

Sources told Geo News that a trap had been laid out for the motorway rape prime suspect, which ultimately led to his arrest.

The sources said that Malhi's wife was taken to Faisalabad by police after the suspect told her during a phone call that he would meet her there.

When Malhi arrived in the city to meet her, he was nabbed by police officials in plain clothes.

According to Geo News correspondent Ahmad Faraz, Malhi was arrested without any resistance and taken from Faisalabad to Lahore.

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

Both suspects confessed to their crime while in police custody while Shafqat also recorded his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate under Section 124 of CrPC.

During an identity parade conducted in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, the victim woman also identified both suspects.