Islamabad couple 'filmed in presence of 14 people for 2.5 hours', police tells court

• Police tells court three suspects filmed the couple in the presence of 14 people.
• Separate case registered against Usman Mirza after recovery of pistol from him.
• Islamabad court grants further 4-day remand of Mirza, accomplices to police.

The Islamabad couple who were subjected to harassment and torture by a property dealer and his accomplices were filmed for 2.5 hours, the federal capital's police told a court on Tuesday.

Three people filmed the assault in the presence of 14 people, the police added.

The police's statement came during the hearing of the Sector E-11 assault case at a District and Sessions Court in Islamabad.

The police told the court they had registered a separate case against the main suspect, property dealer Usman Mirza, after they had recovered a pistol from him, at the I-9 police station.

Police had produced Mirza, along with acomplices Ata-ur-Rehman, Farhan, and Idris Qayyum Butt in court after the completion of their six-day physical remand.

The public prosecutor told the court that two mobile phones and a pistol were recovered from Mirza, adding that the main suspect had extorted Rs1.1 million from the couple on separate occasions.

After hearing the arguments, the district and sessions court granted a further 4-day physical remand of the suspects to the police.

Police add more sections to FIR

A day earlier, during court proceedings, Islamabad police had said that they had registered charges of extortion and rape, among others, against the suspects.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Afzal Ahmad Kausar, addressing a press conference yesterday, said that the couple, in their written statement, mentioned that the suspects had sexually abused them.

The new charges brought against the suspects include Sections 375-A, 375-D, 384, 342, 114, 395, 496-A, and 377-B of the Pakistan Penal Code, Express Tribune reported, citing DIG Kausar.

"The new sections are being included in the first information report (FIR) in light of new developments in the case," DIG Kausar said, according to the publication.

The DIG said he did not know how many people were involved in the case, adding that further investigations would reveal the number of people involved.

He said six accomplices of Mirza had been arrested so far, while the police were still hunting for Ali Abrar, who is a key suspect.

The police official said people should inform the authorities if they know about Mirza's involvement in any other cases.

He said that the suspects' mobile phones were sent for a forensic audit and more facts might come to light about the case once they have the results.

DIG Kausar added that the police were investigating whether Mirza and his accomplices had any support from anyone influential or not.

Fifth suspect arrested

On June 9, the Islamabad police — after the arrest of four suspects allegedly involved in the torture of a couple — had said that a fifth suspect, Bilal Marwat, had been arrested.

The development came a few hours after the capital's top cop gave a briefing to Prime Minister Imran Khan on the matter.

Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Qazi Jamilur Rehman had informed the prime minister that he was personally monitoring the case.

In a statement, the PM's Office had said that the top cop had informed the premier that he was overseeing the matter to build a strong case and get the suspects convicted.

The IGP had said that the police were "using all available resources and scientific methods" to gather evidence against the suspects, the PM's Office stated, adding that he had also informed the prime minister about the law and order situation in the capital.

On June 8, the prime minister had taken notice of the incident and directed the IGP to use all of the police's energies to bring all the people involved to justice and share a report with the PM Office.

What had happened?

The main suspect, Usman Mirza, and his two accomplices Hafizur Rehman and Farhan Shaheen Awan were arrested on June 7 by police after a video of the couple being harassed sparked outrage on social media, with #ArrestUsmanMirza appearing among the top trends on Twitter.

The fourth suspect named in the FIR was arrested on the same day a few hours later, according to an update by the Islamabad police on its Twitter handle.

In the disturbing video, Mirza can be seen violently thrashing and harassing the young couple in a room full of other men. Old videos showing his weapons also came to light later.

Mirza threatened the young man and woman when some people tried to stop him.