Four suspects in alleged Peshawar gang rape case killed in attack by unidentified gunmen

Police say suspects were being taken to Garhi Mosam Khan to identify the location of the alleged crime

PESHAWAR:

Four suspects arrested in connection with the alleged gang rape of two women in Peshawar were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police party while they were being transported to the crime scene on Friday, police said.

On Sunday night, the four suspects had been arrested in connection with the alleged gang rape of two women at a rented house in Garhi Mosam Khan. On Thursday, a Peshawar judicial magistrate had granted police one-day physical remand of the suspects for investigation into the case.

According to the Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mian Saeed Ahmad, the suspects were being taken to Garhi Mosam Khan, on the outskirts of Peshawar, to identify the location of the alleged crime when the attackers opened indiscriminate fire.

No police personnel were injured in the firing, police said. The deceased suspects were identified as Aamir son of Iftikhar, Jalal alias Raja son of Miraj, Chacha son of Qadus and Amdas.

"Weapons allegedly used in the crime had also been recovered from the arrested suspects," he said.

The CCPO said indiscriminate action would continue against social evils, anti-state elements and criminal elements.

The case

The suspects were arrested after armed men allegedly entered a house on Ring Road within the jurisdiction of Rehman Baba Police Station and assaulted the women. Police said the suspects also took the women's mobile phones after the alleged assault.

According to details shared by SSP Operations Farhan Khan at a press briefing on Wednesday, 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. Khan said 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.

Read: Constable killed as gunmen attack police vehicle in Karak

“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.

Read more: K-P CM orders zero tolerance against rape offenders

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.