Motorway rape case: ATC sends Abid Malhi on 14-day judicial remand

Motorway rape case: Prime suspect Abid likely to be produced before ATC for physical remand

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Tuesday has sent prime suspect of motorway gang rape Abid Malhi to the jail on 14-day judicial remand. According to details, Abid Malhi was taken to the court by hiding his face with a cloth. The ATC judge expressed resentment over the incident and directed to complete identification parade process as early as possible. Meanwhile, other suspect who allegedly raped the woman, Shafqat, was handed over to the police on physical remand till October 28.

Abid Malhi arrested

On October 12, 2020, Abid was taken into custody by CIA and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) from Manga Mandi after 33 days by using scientific method. Security personnel told that geo-fencing, DNA sampling, profiling and other such procedures were used to arrest the culprit.

The sources told that the culprit’s father had requested the notable member of the area to present the criminal before the security personnel.

Police sources told that Abid fled to Chiniot from Nankana Sahib where he used to take care of cattle. He then ran from Chiniot to Manga Mandi after getting information about the police raid.

The sources further told that Abid was handed over to the police after contacting area’s notable member.

Shafqat confesses to raping woman on motorway

Shafqat had confessed to raping a woman on the motorway in his initial statement recorded to the police. He also confessed to committing 11 other such crimes with Abid Ali as well. Shafqat told police that they stayed at Qila Sattar Shah the night after the Lahore motorway incident. The next day, they split up with him going to Depalpur and Abid going to his father’s house in Manga Mandi. He revealed that he had last contacted Abid three days ago. His confession comes after Shafqat’s DNA had matched with the samples collected from the crime scene. Shafqat was arrested from Dipalpur on the identification of alleged co-accused Waqar-ul-Hassan, who appeared at CIA police station in Lahore’s Model Town. The investigators further told that Waqar-ul-Hassan was not found involved in the case after his DNA test report came negative.

Woman gang raped on motorway

On September 9, 2020, a woman was driving with her children on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway after midnight when her car ran out of fuel. She called a relative and the motorway police.

The motorway police did not respond because the location was outside their jurisdiction. The woman was helpless and got attacked. Unidentified assailants attacked her as she stopped her vehicle, they smashed her car window before raping her in a nearby field and robbed her of cash and jewellery.

Local media reported that her children were made to watch the entire episode.

Lahore CCPO s statement

The next day the most senior police official in Lahore, Umer Sheikh, appeared in front of the media and implied that she had been partly to blame. Hundreds took to the streets after Lahore Police Chief Umar Sheikh, the lead investigator of the case, rebuked the woman for driving down the motorway late at night without a man accompanying her. He added no one in Pakistani society would “allow their sisters and daughters to travel alone so late”. Since the victim is a resident of France, Sheikh suggested she “mistook that Pakistani society is just as safe”.