Motorway rape suspect surrenders to Lahore Police

LAHORE: A man allegedly involved in the Motorway gang-rape incident surrendered himself before the CIA Model Town on Sunday.

The accused, Waqarul Hassan, was accompanied by his father and a friend. In his preliminary statement, he denied that he was involved in the gang-rape incident. The accused hails from Ali Town, district Sheikhupura, and he had left his residence to avoid his arrest. The CIA officials said that the culprit claimed that he had nothing to do with the incident. He told the police that he had a spare-parts workshop and he was in Lahore on the day of the incident to purchase spare-parts. Police claimed Waqar was released in one of two robbery cases 14 days ago.

The suspect has been shifted to the Lahore Investigation Wing Headquarters for questioning. Sources familiar with the investigation said that DNA profile of the suspect Waqar has been sent to the forensic laboratory for matching.

The key suspect, Abid Ali, is still at large and police teams are conducting raids at different locations to apprehend him. Abid Ali, along with his four accomplices,had allegedly raped a woman and her 15-year-old daughter on June 15, 2013. Abid, now 28, previously used four mobile numbers that he abandoned from time to time, and now he was using a fifth number that gave police a lead about the co-suspect Waqar. He had fled along with his wife, as police found a girl and some other documents from his house. Abid was said to be a serial rapist and was booked in seven criminal cases between 2013 and 2017, including two related to gang-rape incidents.

A day earlier, IGP Inam Ghani claimed that the police had identified two criminals allegedly involved in the heinous crime through DNA profile matching and mobile phone tracking.

The gang-rape in Gujjarpura police limits shook the country, but the IGP Inam Ghani overlooked the gravity of the crime and saved the SP, DSP, SHO concerned from punishment by making a promise that if any such incident takes place in future, the police concerned will be answerable. It’s a coincidence that Inam was serving as Additional IGP Punjab when a young girl was gang-raped in Gujjarpura police area in the month of July 2020, and now when he’s serving as the IGP Punjab, a mother of three children had fallen victim to the rapists in the limits of Gujjarpura police.

Special Investigation Team comprising six members had been constituted which could not make any headway in the gang-rape incident that had taken place on Sept 10. The other 20 teams of Lahore Police and the CIA, formed on the direction of the IGP, are also groping in the dark despite having high-tech gadgets, including DNA evidence, geofencing, existing CCTV footage and NADRA records from the spot.

The statement of the CCPO Lahore drew public attention after he raised questions about victim’s carelessness while setting off her journey. Police released the pictures of Abid Ali and Waqar on Saturday. Abid was identified by Forensic Science Laboratory on Sept 11. However, he managed to escape from the scene due to poor strategy of police. He had left his house an hour before the raid of the CTD. Abid’s brother and a relative Abbas were arrested.

Waqar's number was traced through geofencing when it was being used by his brother-in-law. News Desk adds: Shabbir, a brother of Waqarul Hassan, said his brother was not involved in any rape case. He said he had forced his brother to surrender to prove his innocence. Police had illegally detained Waqar’s brother Tanvir and a nephew Ashfaq Ahmad, Shabbir said.

Waqar told police his brother-in-law Abbas “refused to surrender himself along with me but he may do so soon. He was involved in some criminal activities with Abid Ali and is still in contact with him," Waqar told police.

Meanwhile, speaking to Geo News, Waqar's mother said her son is "innocent" and that he decided to surrender himself after he got to know of the incident. "If my son had done something wrong, he wouldn't have surrendered himself," she said. The suspect's mother appealed to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to ensure justice is done in Waqar's case. "My son is a pious and religious person, his life should be spared," she said, adding: "He runs a motorcycle repairing shop in Qilla Sattar Shah. If my son was a culprit, why would he present himself [to the law enforcement agencies]," she asked. The mother said that she has four daughters and two sons and one of her sons was ill.

Meanwhile, Waqar's father said that his son is not a "thief" and "works at a shop". He said Waqar is "innocent" and appealed to the authorities to release him.