Motorway rape case: Punjab police rewards personnel for apprehending suspects

• Inspector General (IG) Punjab Inam Ghani distributes prizes among police personnel and officers.
  
• 40 officers and personnel were awarded Rs2.5 million.
  
• Last year in September, two armed men raped a woman stranded with her children on the motorway and robbed her of money and other valuables
  

LAHORE: Punjab police distributed cash rewards among the police personnel who arrested the accused in the motorway rape case on Tuesday.

Inspector General (IG) Punjab Inam Ghani distributed appreciation certificates and Rs2.5 million among 40 officers and personnel who played an active role in solving the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway incident.

The IG Punjab said that the case was challenging but law enforcers served their duties with professionalism and dedication

According to APP, officers belonging to the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Criminal Record Management System (CRMS) and other branches of the Police Department were rewarded at a ceremony, held at the Central Police Office.

The incident

Last year in September, two armed men raped a woman stranded with her children on the motorway before robbing her of money and other valuables.

Abid Malhi and his accomplice Shafqat alias Bagga were at the Lahore-Sialkot motorway on September 9 with the intention to rob a motorist when they saw a stationary white-coloured car on the roadside.

The two approached the vehicle, threatened and robbed its occupants, and then gang-raped the woman in front of her children after dragging them to a nearby field.

Read more: Lahore CCPO blames motorway rape victim for choice of route, travelling late at night

The incident sparked protests and anger across the country, raising questions on the overall law and order situation of the country.

Shafqat was arrested first in September and after his DNA samples matched samples taken from the crime scene, he was remanded into police custody.

A month after evading police, Malhi, the prime suspect, was arrested from Faisalabad in October.

How did police manage to catch the prime suspect?

Sources had told Geo News that a trap had been laid out for the motorway rape prime suspect, which ultimately led to his arrest.

The sources said that Malhi's wife was taken to Faisalabad by police after the suspect told her during a phone call that he would meet her there.

When Malhi arrived in the city to meet her, he was nabbed by police officials in plain clothes.

According to Geo News correspondent Ahmad Faraz, Malhi was arrested without any resistance and taken from Faisalabad to Lahore.

Read more: Netizens burst in anger over horrific Motorway incident, call for prompt action

Both suspects confessed to their crime while in police custody while Shafqat also recorded his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate under section 124 of CrPC.

During an identity parade conducted in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, the victim woman also identified both suspects.