Four arrested over alleged sexual assault of two women in Peshawar

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police said on Wednesday that four suspects were arrested, including the owner of a house, in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two women in Garhi Mosam Khan on the outskirts of Peshawar.

In a press briefing, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Farhan Khan said the two women, who were co-wives, were assaulted after the suspects allegedly entered their rented home, held their husband at gunpoint and tied him up. Children present at the house were also allegedly threatened and intimidated during the incident.

A case was registered at Rehman Baba Police Station under Sections 170 (personating a public servant), 375-A (gang rape), 377-B (punishment for rape), 395 (punishment for dacoity) and 449 (house-trespass in order to commit an offence punishable with death) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), along with Section 50 (exposure to seduction) of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010.

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“As soon as the incident was reported, a case was registered, and special investigation teams led by the SP Saddar Division were formed to arrest the suspects,” Khan said. He added that the family had been living in a rented house for Rs5,000 per month.

The SSP further stated that the suspects were traced and arrested within hours with the help of Safe City surveillance cameras and other technical means. Police also recovered weapons allegedly used during the incident, he added.

He said investigators had inspected the crime scene and collected evidence for forensic examination.

“No negligence or dereliction of duty would be tolerated in the case, and all legal requirements would be fulfilled to ensure that the suspects are dealt with according to law and brought to justice,” he asserted.

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Also addressing the presser, Serious Crime Investigation Wing SSP Dr Sami Malik said provisions of the Child Protection and Welfare Act were added after investigators found that children in the house had allegedly been threatened during the incident.

He stated that investigators had determined that the suspects allegedly tied the father with a rope before intimidating the children. “A differently-abled girl was also among the children victimised by the suspects.”

Police officials also said the children's statements and other aspects of the incident were being examined as part of the investigation. “Further details would emerge after the statements of the family members are recorded and the arrested suspects are interrogated,” they added.

Meanwhile, the investigators stated that forensic samples collected from the two women and the arrested suspects had been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for analysis.

Officials said the samples would be compared once the forensic report was received and the investigation would proceed accordingly.