Peshawar: Four gang-rape suspects killed in gun attack during crime scene visit

PESHAWAR: Four suspects arrested over the alleged gang rape of two women in Peshawar were killed on Friday when unidentified gunmen opened fire while they were being taken to the crime scene for identification, police said.

“The four suspects were being taken to the location in the jurisdiction of Rehman Baba police station when the attackers opened indiscriminate fire, killing all four at the scene,” according to Capital City Police Peshawar.

No police personnel were injured in the attack, police said, adding that the identities and motives of the attackers were not immediately known.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Farhan Khan said investigators were examining whether the gunmen were accomplices of the suspects or had some other connection to the case.

Police were using Safe City surveillance cameras and other technical resources to identify those responsible for the attack, he said.

The four men had been arrested in connection with an alleged gang rape reported in the Rehman Baba police station area on September 6. Police said they had recovered weapons allegedly used in the crime, as well as mobile phones and other items allegedly taken from the victims’ home.

According to police officials, the suspects had been produced before a court on Thursday, which granted them one-day physical remand.

After their medical examination was completed later that night, police took them to the location where the alleged crime had taken place for identification and further investigation.

It was during this exercise that the unidentified attackers opened fire, police said.

Alleged attack on family

Police said the incident under investigation took place at about 2 am on September 6 when four armed men allegedly entered a rented house by scaling its boundary wall in the Garhi Mosa Khan area, within the jurisdiction of Rehman Baba police station.

The suspects allegedly held the family at gunpoint before separating the husband and his son and restraining them. Police said the two women, aged 22 and 27, were then allegedly sexually assaulted.

According to SSP Operations Farhan Khan, the family included the tenant, his two wives, a son and a daughter.

Police said that the seven-year-old daughter was also allegedly subjected to inappropriate touching during the incident. Child Protection Act provisions were subsequently included in the case, police officials said.

The attackers allegedly took mobile phones and other belongings from the house before fleeing.

Police said that the family contacted law enforcement within hours of the incident and walked to Rehman Baba police station, reaching there at around 4 am. They provided details of the alleged gang rape, following which a case was registered and four special teams were formed to arrest the suspects.

SSP Operations Farhan Khan and SSP Investigation Dr Muhammad Sami Malik had earlier described the incident as exceptionally serious and said the suspects had allegedly admitted their involvement during the investigation.

Police said the suspects and the affected family had a landlord-tenant relationship, adding that the suspects may have believed the family would be too frightened to approach the police.

Investigation and support for victims

Police said that all four suspects were arrested during the investigation and weapons allegedly used in the crime were recovered from them. The mobile phones and other belongings allegedly taken from the house were also recovered, police officials said.

Farhan Khan said that the suspects had told investigators that the attack had been planned.

Police said the victims’ statements were recorded with particular care, with female police officials involved in the investigation. A psychological support session was also arranged for the women to help them deal with the trauma following the incident, officials said.

The circumstances surrounding the killing of the four suspects are now being investigated separately.

Police said that it remained unclear who carried out the attack and whether the assailants were linked to the suspects or had another motive.

The police said further investigation was under way.