KARACHI, Aug 27: Police have failed to arrest the alleged rapist in the Ramaswami gangrape case.

Police mounted pressure on the relations of the absconding alleged rapist for his arrest and also raided a number of his possible hideouts, but all proved fruitless, police sources said.

The suspects, Ismatullah, a constable posted in Saddar Town, Malik Safeer, a dismissed policeman, Mohammed Kashif, a laundry shopowner, and Malik Qamar Iqbal, a constable of the CIA Saddar, have been arrested for raping two sisters in their Ranchhore Lines flat on April 1.

Their accomplice and the mastermind of the incident, Malik Hasnat, son of inspector Malik Ghulam Shabbir Awan, is still at large.

The gang of five had barged into the flat of Abdus Sattar in Ramaswami, held the occupants hostage at gunpoint, and trussed up Abdus Sattar and his son. The intruders outraged the modesty of Abdus Sattar’s two daughters — one a 19-year -old unmarried girl and the other a 22-year-old divorcee — before their father and brother.

Police, who first refused to register the case on the complaint of Abdus Sattar, later arrested Malik Safeer, Mohammad Kashif, and Ismatullah, involved in the incident.

Police picked up three relations of the prime suspect, Malik Hasnat Awan. Police investigations showed that Malik Hasnat’s father, inspector Malik Shabbir Awan, illegally occupied a minibus terminus of route W-11 at Keamari and was operating it by misusing his official powers.

Police seized three cars, Nissan Sunny (AA-0021), Suzuki Mehran (AAL-590) and Suzuki Khyber (F-6904), which were in possession of Malik Hasnat. Nissan Sunny was in the name of Malik Farooq Awan. Police investigations showed that the full name of Malik Hasnat was Malik Farooq Hasnat Awan. Sometimes he used his name as Malik Farooq Awan and sometimes as Malik Hasnat Awan to conceal his identity in order to deceive people and police.

“The Inspector-General of the Sindh Police, Syed Kamal Shah, had instructed police to arrest Malik Hasnat, but the investigation wing of police has made some deal with the alleged rapist,” sources close to the investigation wing said.