By U.Zee
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have arrested the suspect involved in the recent alleged rape of a woman at one of the trails of the capital’s Margalla Hills.
In the early hours of Friday, the Islamabad police had registered a first information report (FIR) after the woman had complained that a man had lured her with the prospect of a job and raped her at gunpoint on Thursday afternoon after taking her to the Margalla Hills’ trail 3 — an old hiking track that starts from Margalla Road in F-6 and leads to Viewpoint.
In a statement issued today, the Islamabad Police said it was successful in arresting the suspect after a three-day effort.
It added that it arrested the man late last night on “technical bases” after searching for him, claiming that the victim was not assisting the police in the investigation. The statement also said that “the initial medical examination, the rape had not been proved”, and that there were “no signs of resistance or marks due to the bushes” at the trail. Yesterday, the police had tweeted that it was investigating the incident “on merit” and claimed that according to the victim’s medical report, “evidence of assault was not found”. The police had also claimed that there was “friendship between the victim and the suspect”.
“The plaintiff (victim) is reluctant to cooperate with the police and has not provided the suspect’s details, it had further said. The police statement went on to assert that the Margalla Hill trails were safe, and that “drone surveillance and effective patrolling” were ensured there.
“The location of the incident is being determined. Police will investigate all aspects of the case,” it had added.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of the rape survivor under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Islamabad’s Kohsar police station in the early hours of the morning.
According to the FIR, the complainant, a resident of Muridke, had been looking for a job and received a message on WhatsApp from a person around two months ago.
“He told me he was an accountant in the education department, where some vacancies were available,” the FIR quoted the complainant as saying, adding that the man told her he could get her a job there.
In return, the complainant said, he asked for Rs50,000.
She told police that the suspect also asked her to come to Rawalpindi and she reached there on Wednesday (July 12).
The same day, she said, he asked her to share her location with him, following which they met at the last bus stop of Tench Bhatta, a neighbourhood in Rawalpindi.
“There, I gave him my curriculum vitae and Rs30,000,” she said, adding that the remaining Rs20,000 were to be paid after she would receive the “written order of the employment”.
Moreover, she continued, “He told me that I will have to meet a senior officer who will be interviewing job applicants.
“He told me that after meeting me, the officer would get familiar with me and select me for the available post without any objection.”
For this purpose, she said, the suspect picked her up from the last bus stop of Tench Bhatta and took her to Margalla Hills’ trail 3 on Thursday (July 13) on a motorcycle.
“He then took me to the jungle and raped me at gunpoint around 3pm”, she added.
She further stated that the suspect threatened to kill her if she made any noise. “So I remained silent out of fear.”
The complaint said the suspect later dropped her at the last bus stop of Tench Bhatta after threatening her again.
She sought “strict” legal action against the suspect and asked police to get her medical checkup done.
According to the FIR, she was sent to Polyclinic along with a lady constable for a medical checkup.
