In a major breakthrough, the Punjab government claimed on Saturday that the police have identified the two suspects involved in the ghastly rape of a mother of three on a major highway in Lahore.
The prime suspect – identified as Abid Ali – has been traced through DNA profiling, IGP Punjab Inam Ghani told a news conference in Lahore on Saturday where Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, along with his cabinet members, was also present.
The second suspect – identified as Waqaul Hassan Shah – was traced on the basis of Abid’s phone record. Abid carries seven mobile SIM cards, while only one is registered in his name.
Abid, son of Akbar Ali, is a resident of Fort Abbas, a small village in Bahawalnagar district, IGP Ghani said citing his DNA profile. Waqar is a resident of Qilla Sattar Shah in Sheikhupura district. He was released on bail a couple of weeks back.The 27-year-old Abid Ali, who, according to the IGP, is a habitual offender. He has five cases registered against him. His DNA profile has been available with the police since 2013 because of his criminal record. His DNA matched with the DNA found on the rape victim and at the crime scene.
Abid managed to flee along with his wife after a police team in civvies visited the village for investigation, according to IGP Ghani. He added that both suspects were on the run.A massive manhunt involving 28 police teams is under way.
“We are utilising all our resources and taking assistance from other intelligence agencies as well and the accused will soon be arrested,” the Punjab IGP assured the media.
At the news briefing, Chief Minister Buzdar announced Rs2.5 million each for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. He assured the suspects would soon be in police custody.
He appreciated efforts of the police officials, saying: “Police reached to the real culprits in less than 72 hours”.
Chief Minister Buzdar said the recently appointed Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) of Lahore, Umar Sheikh, had given an “irresponsible statement” on the Motorway rape tragedy during a television interview.
CM Buzdar said IGP Inam Ghani has already sent a show-cause to the CCPO which he is required to respond to within seven days.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide Shahbaz Gill also shared the same information in a tweet earlier in the day. Gill congratulated the Punjab chief minister and top police officials for the major headway in the case.Two men dragged the woman out of her car on the Lahore-Sheikhupura Motorway, raped her in front of her two children before robbing her on Wednesday night. She had pulled over by the roadside after she ran out of fuel and called police and her family for help.
The sickening incident set off nationwide outrage, while CCPO Sheikh’s apparent victim-blaming added fuel to the fire. In a television interview, he said the woman shouldn’t have left home late in the night.
“No one in our society would allow their sisters and daughters to travel alone so late,” he said.
On Friday, authorities decided to go for the DNA census of the population of the nearby villages after failure of the investigations wing of the Lahore police in arresting the accused involved in the brutal sexual assault on a woman in front of her children during robbery in Gujjarpura three days ago.
This is the third high profile case in which the Punjab police went for DNA census after failing to rely on its investigations capacity. Previously, it happened in Zainab murder case in Kasur and Chunia serial killing case after sodomy.
On Thursday night, Inam Ghani, the Inspector General of the Punjab Police, formed a six members committee, headed by Deputy Inspector General Investigations, Lahore, Shahzada Sultan, to investigate the gage rape on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.
The other members of the committee included SSP Investigations, Lahore, Zeeshan Asghar, RO Special Branch, Lahore, Jahanzeb Nazir, RO CTD, Lahore, Naseeb Ullah Khan, SP CIA, Lahore, Asim Iftikhar and in charge anti-gender crime cell, Civil Lines, Fiza Azam.
The top police brass had deputed over two-dozen investigation teams to get hold of the accused. DIG Investigations of Lahore police Sahibzada Shahzada Sultan said that all the available resources had been used to solve the case.
Police had accessed CCTV footages, CDR analysis, geo-fencing, arrest of history-sheeters to trace the suspects. The teams of Special Branch, CTD and other investigation agencies had also been employed for the purpose.
