Police arrest suspect in Islamabad’s hiking track rape case

News Desk

Islamabad: The Islamabad police have arrested the suspect involved in the recent alleged rape of a woman at one of the trails of the Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, police sources said on Sunday.

According to the sources, the arrest was made possible using technical means. In this regard, Islamabad Capital City Police Officer (ICCPO) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan has been directed to complete the investigation on merit as soon as possible.

In the early hours of Friday , the Islamabad police had registered a case after the victim woman had complained that a man had lured her with the prospect of a job and raped her at the gunpoint on Thursday after taking her to the Margalla Hills’ Trail 3.

The Kohsar police station registered a case against the suspect and initiated investigation. The survivor, who was the complainant, told the concerned police that the suspected man, identified as Noman, claimed they were going for an interview. Instead, he took her to a secluded park on the popular Trail 3 at around 3 p.m. and raped her.

According to the survivor, the suspect, who identified himself as Noman, contacted her via WhatsApp a couple of months ago. During their conversation, Noman told her he was an accountant in the education department.

The victim woman further said she has done Intermediate and had been looking for work for some time. The suspect told her that there were openings in his department and that he could get her the job for Rs50,000. The woman, a resident of Muridke in Sheikhupura district of Punjab, agreed to come to Islamabad for the interview with cash.

She arrived in Rawalpindi on Wednesday and stayed with a relative. On the same day, she met the suspected man and paid him Rs 30,000. The FIR added that she was supposed to pay the remaining Rs20,000 after getting the job. The suspect told her that she had to meet a senior officer for an interview, a ‘formality’, after which she would get the job, the survivor lady told the police.

They agreed to meet on July 14 on which the heinous crime took place. The woman said her attacker was armed and threatened her with dire consequences if she tried to shout for help or seek legal help later.

She said that Noman dropped her back after the incident, and she narrated the story to her relative. After that, they decided to go to the police.