April 28, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1428

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JHELUM, April 27: The Jhelum police have rounded up Azhar Iqbal and Imran Asif, main accused in the rape case of two sisters, who have taken refuge in the Lal Masjid, police sources said.

According to well-placed sources, the Civil Line police arrested Azhar Iqbal on Wednesday night soon after registration of criminal case against him. He was arrested on the instructions of the federal and provincial governments.

The second accused Imran Asif alias Mani was arrested on Friday soon after being released on bail in a bootlegging case registered with Jhelum city police.

The complainant Muhammad Aslam, the father of alleged rape victims Salma (17) and Samina (16), now 8-week pregnant, has also alleged in the FIR that the main accused Azhar Iqbal was very close to the district nazim Ch Farrukh Altaf, and according to him the accused was being protected by the district nazim.

Meanwhile the district nazim Ch Farrukh Altaf and Ch Muhammad Shahbaz, federal minister population welfare have denied their links with the accused and said that the accused as well as the complainant parties were already involved in several drug, illicit arms, and rape cases registered with different police stations of Jhelum city and other districts.

Mr Farrukh said that the allegations levelled against him in the FIR by the complainant were concocted and baseless and were hatched at the behest of his political opponents. He said that the accused as well as the complainant party were not known to him.

According to the police record, Malka Bibi the mother of alleged rape victims, has served five years RI for possessing 1100 grams of charas in a case registered against her under section 9-A CNCA.

Aslam himself was involved in 11 criminal cases including drug peddling and boozing, registered against him in different police stations of the Jhelum city.

Meanwhile, the police sources said the statements of the alleged rape victims Salma and Samina would be recorded under section 164ppc on Saturday.