Lahore magistrate grants four-day remand extension to two suspects in Azeri woman case
A judicial magistrate in Lahore on Monday rejected the police’s request for an eight-day extension in the physical remand of two suspects arrested in connection with the alleged rape of an Azeri woman, granting investigators four more days to complete their probe.
The developments came against the backdrop of a case registered on the complaint of the Azeri woman under Section 375A (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code against three suspects at Defence C police station in Lahore.
The woman said she had travelled to the city on a business trip, where she was allegedly lured, intoxicated and raped by three unidentified men in a private housing society near Raiwind during the night between September 25 and 26. On Sunday, October 4, she returned to her home country under police escort.
Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood of the Cantonment Courts heard the police request seeking further physical custody of suspects Ali Zain and Mohsin. The suspects were produced before the court after completing their six-day physical remand.
During the hearing, the investigating officer (IO) told the court that a substantial part of the investigation had been completed.
Read More: Azeri woman in alleged Lahore gang-rape case returns home under police escort
The officer said police still needed to recover the suspects’ mobile phones and conduct potency tests, and requested an eight-day extension in their physical remand.
The court, however, rejected the request and granted police four additional days of physical remand.
Meanwhile, proceedings were also held before a district and sessions court in Lahore on the interim bail petition of Nimra, who is accused of facilitating the alleged rape of the Azeri woman.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Rafaqat Ali heard Nimra’s pre-arrest bail petition and extended her interim bail until October 13.
The IO failed to produce the case record before the court. The court therefore granted the investigator additional time to submit the record and adjourned the hearing.
Case background
The case was registered at Lahore’s Defence C police station on the complaint of an Azerbaijani woman in her twenties, who alleged that three men molested her after she was taken to an apartment following a dinner outing on the night of September 25.
According to the FIR, the woman, who had come to Pakistan from Baku for business, said two women took her to a café, where three men later joined them. She alleged that the men subsequently took her to an apartment, gave her an intoxicating drink and raped her. She was later allegedly abandoned near Ghazi Interchange, with her mobile phones taken from her.
Police subsequently identified three suspects and recovered a vehicle allegedly used in the incident. Investigators also detained three people for questioning and launched raids to arrest other suspects. Police said the victim underwent a medical examination and that investigators were examining all aspects of the case.
On September 28, the woman recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a judicial magistrate. Police told The Express Tribune that federal authorities had been asked to place the three suspects on the Provisional National Identification List after they reportedly left Lahore. One suspect was traced to Sialkot, while police also detained two relatives and a domestic worker of another suspect during the investigation.
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In her detailed statement, the woman named Muhammad Ahmed Tanvir, Syed Mohsin Shah and Syed Ali Zain as the men who allegedly assaulted her. She told the court that she had travelled to Lahore after spending five days in Faisalabad and had contacted two women, Nimra and Muskan, whom she planned to meet before travelling to Skardu.
She alleged that she was confined, threatened and sexually assaulted before being placed in a car and pushed out after she said she would report the incident to the police.
The investigation has since moved into the courts. On October 1, a Lahore district court granted police three-day physical remand of Muskan, one of the women allegedly linked to the complainant's movements before the incident. The prosecution sought her custody for investigation, while her defence denied any involvement and said her relationship with the complainant was limited to friendship.
Yesterday, the complainant left Pakistan for Azerbaijan under police escort after initially refusing to return, saying she wanted to pursue the case. Three Lahore police officers accompanied her on the flight to Baku at the request of the Azerbaijani embassy.