Islamabad police arrest suspect in rape of foreign woman

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police claimed to have arrested a suspect in the alleged rape of a foreign woman in the federal capital, with the help of fingerprints lifted from an abandoned soft drink bottle.

According to the police, the suspect was involved in the rape of a foreign woman at gunpoint and also robbed her of cash amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees.

Islamabad police officials also claimed that the arrested suspect was also involved in selling drugs (ice/meth) outside schools, colleges, and hostels.

Local police said that the victim, a foreign national, had come to Pakistan for medical treatment and was staying at a girls’ hostel in Rawalpindi.

What does the FIR say?

The First Information Report (FIR) of the rape incident was registered at the Aabpara Police Station on the complaint of the foreign woman.

According to the FIR, the victim narrated that on the evening of May 5, she booked a ride through a taxi app to visit a doctor in Islamabad’s F-7 sector and boarded a motorcycle with the rider.

She said that instead of taking her to the doctor, the bike rider took her to the forested area of Shakarparian, where he parked the motorcycle, whipped out a weapon, and took her into the woods and raped her. Before fleeing, the assailant took her purse, which contained Rs280,000 in cash, a ring, and her passport, the FIR said.

As per the FIR, the suspect attempted to flee on his motorcycle, but when it failed to start, he abandoned it and ran away.

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Local police said the victim informed a patrolling police team in the area about the incident. With the help of female police personnel, the woman was taken to Polyclinic Hospital for a medical examination.

A police officer part of the investigation team said that the initial medical report confirmed the foreign woman was raped.

He said that the suspect’s fingerprints were lifted from the purse used by the victim and sent to the relevant department for identification.

Local police also confirmed that the victim reported the incident to her country’s embassy, after which the diplomatic mission contacted Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sources said that the Islamabad police chief assigned the investigation of the case not only to the SSP Investigation but also tasked the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to assist in the probe.

How suspect arrested?

Head of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Islamabad Police Hamza Humayun and a member of the investigation team, told the BBC that based on the victim’s statement, a sketch of the suspect was drawn and investigation was launched.

He said, “Police reviewed all CCTV footage from the route where the suspect had picked up the foreign woman on the day of the incident.”

He said that the victim’s fiancé, who resides outside Pakistan, had booked the ride for her through his phone. According to SSP Humayun, “Before the private company’s driver could even confirm the ride, the victim had already come out of the hostel to go to the doctor.”

“The suspect was already present outside the hostel on a motorcycle wearing a helmet. The woman assumed it was her ride and got onto the motorcycle, asking to be taken to F-7 to visit the doctor, he said. However, the suspect took her to Shakarparian instead and raped her, he said.

Another police officer involved in the investigation said that during the review of CCTV footage, a motorcycle similar to the one abandoned by the suspect at the crime scene was spotted.

He said that although the suspect was wearing a helmet in the footage and could not be identified directly, his appearance matched the description given by the victim.

SSP Humayun said that during further CCTV review, the same motorcycle was seen parked outside the New Town Police Station in Rawalpindi, with the suspect sitting on it.

“In that footage, the suspect was not wearing a helmet, and his appearance matched the sketch created from the victim’s account,” he said.

He said that the footage showed two individuals, and when shopkeepers near the New Town Police Station were questioned about them, some people recognized the person accompanying the other.

Police then took the identified man into custody for questioning.

“During questioning, the man said he had shared a soft drink with the suspect just a day earlier. Based on his lead, the suspect in the rape case was arrested,” he said.

“The soft drink bottle the suspect had used was recovered, and fingerprints lifted from it matched those found on the victim’s purse,” the officer explained.

The SSP CTD said that after the investigation, the suspect was presented before the foreign victim for identification, and “she identified him in less than a second.”

He further said that the suspect confessed to raping the woman and taking money from her.

SSP Humayun said that a background check on the suspect revealed he was also involved in selling drugs outside girls’ colleges and hostels. He also had multiple motorcycle theft cases registered against him at various police stations across Rawalpindi, he said.