LAHORE: Eight men suspected of raping a teenaged girl were remanded in police custody for three days by a judicial magistrate here on Monday.

Racecourse police presented the prime suspect and seven of his alleged accomplices before the magistrate at the cantonment courts under strict security.

Assisted by a deputy prosecutor, the investigation officer requested the court to grant 10-day physical remand of the suspects for interrogation and to conduct their DNA tests.

Advocate Muhammad Younas, representing the suspects, opposed the request and claimed that police had arrested them on the basis of mere allegations and media pressure. He said the arrested men were not present at the place of the alleged occurrence.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the magistrate granted three-day remand and asked police to complete the investigation by the next hearing.

The suspects allegedly kidnapped the 15-year-old schoolgirl from Multan Road and sexually assaulted her at a guesthouse on The Mall.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2015