A Lahore court on Friday sent four suspects, including Raza Dar, a suspected close relative of a senior political figure, to 14-day judicial remand in a case involving the alleged kidnapping, ransom demand and rape of two foreign women.
Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood passed the order after police sought judicial remand following the completion of the suspects’ physical custody. The four had remained on physical remand since their arrest on July 3 in connection with the case registered a day earlier.
During the hearing, the prosecution opposed a defence plea seeking the discharge of one suspect, arguing that he was accused of destroying evidence and facilitating the alleged offences. The magistrate also observed that while only one suspect was named in the FIR, the remaining accused were later identified by the two women during the investigation.
The case was registered on July 2 after the father of one of the victims contacted the Police Emergency Helpline 15 to report that his daughter and her companion had been abducted. Police later recovered the women and arrested four suspects.
According to the FIR, the accused abducted the women, a Dutch and a Venezuelan national, demanded up to $1.5 million in ransom and sexually assaulted them during their captivity. The suspects were booked under sections relating to rape and kidnapping for extortion of the Pakistan Penal Code.
In her statement recorded before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Dutch woman alleged that she and her companion travelled to Pakistan on June 26 at the invitation of a businessman they had met in Singapore.
She claimed they were lured to a house in Lahore, held captive by armed men, assaulted and forced to send ransom requests to relatives.
The woman further alleged that the suspects transferred $17,000 in cryptocurrency from her accounts before the two victims escaped from a moving vehicle on July 1 and sought help, leading to their rescue by police.
