LAHORE: Police have registered a case against three men accused of gang-raping a 20-year-old Azerbaijani woman in Lahore and launched raids to arrest the suspects, a senior police official said on Sunday.
According to the first information report (FIR), the woman told police that two women took her to an unidentified cafe before three men allegedly took her to an apartment on the pretext of a joy ride.
She alleged that the men took her to a flat, drugged her drink and sexually assaulted her. She said the suspects later abandoned her near Ghazi Interchange on Saturday afternoon and took her two mobile phones.
Deputy Inspector General of Police for Investigation Syed Zeeshan Raza said police had identified the suspects and recovered the vehicle allegedly used in the incident.
“Raids have been conducted on all known locations and are continuing,” the official said, adding that the suspects would be arrested soon. He declined to disclose their identities, saying the investigation was being monitored at the highest level.
The woman, who arrived in Pakistan around two weeks ago for business purposes, contacted police helpline 15 using a phone borrowed from a passerby after being dropped near Ghazi Interchange, according to the FIR.
The case was registered at Defence C police station under Sections 375A and 337J of the Pakistan Penal Code, relating to gang rape and causing hurt by means of poison.
The incident comes three months after a similar case involving two foreign women in Lahore. In July, police rescued a Dutch woman and a Venezuelan national from Lahore’s Defence area after they were allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by four men.
Police had said at the time that the women travelled to Pakistan after receiving an invitation from a local acquaintance. Investigators reportedly traced the suspects through surveillance cameras and recovered the women within two hours after one victim’s father contacted authorities from Spain.