Following rape case, capital cops ask parkgoers to stay in well-lit parts after sunset

Following the harrowing incident of sexual assault in a park in the federal capital’s sector F-9, the Islamabad police have said while the department is working with the local administrations to improve security arrangements in the park, civilians are advised to stay in lit-up areas of the park after sunset.

In the incident that shocked the nation, two armed men allegedly raped a girl in the F-9 area at gunpoint, police said on Saturday.

The incident had taken place two days prior to the police announcement, when two armed men approached the victim at a park in F-9, who was there with her male colleague in the evening, according to the first information report (FIR).

Taking to Twitter, the spokesperson of the Islamabad Police wrote: “The Islamabad Capital Police are investigating the incident on a scientific basis. The police, along with the district administration, are improving the security arrangements of the park. Visitors to the park during evening hours are requested to limit themselves to lighted areas.”

The police claimed to be probing the incident on a “scientific basis”, making use of forensic reports and DNA tests during the investigation.

In the statement, the spokesman also said that people coming to the park in the evening were advised to “limit themselves to lighted places” and call 15 in case of emergency.

It must be added that the gun-toting aggressors had taken the two to a nearby thicket at gunpoint and separated them, according to the FIR. The attackers also demanded to know what the victim was doing at the park in the evening. As they left, they reiterated that she should not come to the park after dark.

Reacting to the incident, the Islamabad police had said its Gender Protection Unit was probing the harassment under CPO Operations Sohail Zafar Chattha.