Lahore rape case: court reserves decision on remand, identification parade of ‘accused’

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Saturday reserved a decision on police requests for the physical remand and identification parade of Ahmad Tanveer, an accused in a case involving an Azerbaijani woman in Lahore.

Police presented Tanveer before the Model Town courts and sought permission for an identification parade as part of the investigation. Judicial Magistrate Saeed Mahmood heard the request and reserved his decision.

The development comes a day after the case took another turn when the Azerbaijani woman who had accused three men of gang rape issued a video statement declaring Tanveer innocent and asking for the case against him to be closed.

In the video, the woman said Tanveer had neither assaulted her nor taken her mobile phone and claimed that her earlier statements had been given under pressure. Her latest account differed from the statement she had previously recorded before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Tanveer’s lawyer, Safdar Shaheen Pirzada, opposed the police application, arguing that investigators were presenting an old incident as a new case. The lawyer told the court that Tanveer had been arrested outside Aamir Hotel and disputed the police account that he had been taken into custody from Baba Shah Jamal. He said the defence could provide footage of the arrest if required.

Pirzada also argued that Tanveer had already secured bail in the matter.

According to the latest court proceedings, Ichhra police have registered a case against Tanveer.

Police have maintained that the investigation will continue on merit. DIG Investigation Syed Zeeshan Raza said the woman had already named three suspects in her judicial statement and alleged that her subsequent video was an attempt to influence the investigation.

Arrest followed bail proceedings

Tanveer had earlier obtained interim bail, which a sessions court extended until October 27. Police, however, arrested him after the hearing.

His detention prompted a separate petition in which the defence alleged that personnel from the Crime Control Department and men in plain clothes had taken him away despite the interim bail order.

The petition expressed concern over his custody and asked the court to order his recovery and ensure his safety.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif also commented on the case after allegations emerged that the woman had been offered money to withdraw her accusations. She said such claims, if established, raised serious concerns about the use of wealth and influence in cases involving sexual violence.

The allegations of financial pressure and judicial bribery have not been independently established.

The original case concerns allegations by the 20-year-old Azerbaijani woman that she was taken to an apartment in Lahore and sexually assaulted by three men after being given an intoxicating substance. Two other suspects had previously been arrested, while Tanveer’s alleged role remained under investigation.