There is a big headway in Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang-rape case, as one of the accused Shafqat has confessed his involvement in the horrific incident, 24NewsHD TV channel reported.

Co-accused Waqarul Hassan named another person Shafqat who he believed was involved with the main accused Abdil Ali Malhi in various criminal activities.

The police have arrested Shafqat from Deepalpur, a companion of main accused Abid, Sunday night.

Startling Revelations

Arrested co-accused Shafqat who has now confessed before the police shared startling revelations about the gang-rape that Abid called Shafqat and a person aka ‘Bala mistri’ to Lahore to carry out the robbery ‘Bala mistri’ went back from halfway and later Shafqat and Abid Ali robbed and gang-raped the woman whose was waiting for help after her car had some fault on Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.

Co-accused Shafqat in his initial statement to the police said after the gang-rape incident at Motorway, next day he went to Depalpur while Abid Ali Malhi went to Mandi Bahauddin to meet his father. Culprit Shafqat said he had contacted Abid Ali three days ago.

He said, “I and Abid Ali also tried to rape a woman during a robbery attempt in Sheikhupura a month ago but due to police party reached the spot.”

CM Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said that Shafqat Ali who was involved in the tragic rape incident of a woman at Sialkot Motorway has been arrested and his DNA has been matched. “He has also confessed to the crime,” the Punjab CM said in a tweet.

Usman Buzdar said, “Our entire team is constantly trying to arrest the accused Abid Ali, and his arrest is expected soon. Inshallah.”

https://twitter.com/UsmanAKBuzdar/status/1305478434949341184 

IG Punjab 

Inspector General of Police Punjab, Inam Ghani has said that in the light of scientific analysis and investigation of the evidence found at the crime scene, one of the accused in the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway rape case, Shafqat Ali son of Allah Ditta, resident of Haroonabad, Bahawalnagar district, has been arrested.

He said that the DNA of accused Shafqat Ali matched the DNA obtained from the crime scene.

IGP said that Punjab Police has been worked round the clock to identify the accused and arrest the accused Shafqat and the fugitive accused Abid Ali Malhi will also be arrested soon and brought to justice.

Meanwhile, police have also arrested another accused Iqbal during a raid in Chichawatni. Iqbal has been accused of being an accomplice of main accused Abid and had been using 10 different mobile sims. The police and other security agencies located Iqbal through geo-fencing of his mobile phone and he will be brought to Lahore for further interrogation.

The police have hoped that Iqbal’s arrest would lead to the arrest of the main accused Abid who is still at large.

The police will conduct DNA sampling of both Shafqat and Iqbal to determine their involvement in the gang rape.

Main accused Abid is still on the run and a number of police teams are hunting round the clock.

Abid has been involved in crimes like theft, robbery, murder and rape in the past, according to people of his own village.

Talking to a team of 24NewsHD TV that visited Abid Ali’s village to ascertain facts about him, people of his native village, Chak-260 HR in Fort Abbas Tehsil, said that victims in most cases had reconciled with Abid Ali due to the fear factor.

Abid, son of Akbar Ali, was named in a case (13/264) registered in Fort Abbas Police Station. Besides Abdi Ali, his four accomplices were also named in this case. In this case, Abid Ali and his accomplices had allegedly raped a woman and her daughter in front of their family members.