MUZAFFARABAD: A judicial magistrate on Monday remanded five men, accused of raping and poisoning a woman, in police custody until March 23.

According to SHO City Police Station Pervez Hameed, the five men raped a 19-year-old woman on March 8 on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad.

The SHO said that preliminary investigations indicated that the victim knew one of the accused, who had asked her out on March 8.

“He picked her up in a Suzuki van with four other men and drove her to Rawani, outside Muzaffarabad, where the men raped her one by one,” the SHO said.

The victim was then poisoned and dumped near her house in Tariqabad. She was taken to the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital by her father, who also called the police and lodged an FIR.

The men were arrested Sunday night when the victim regained consciousness and recorded her statement.

“We will ascertain details of the case after the victim recovers,” SHO Hameed said, adding that the victim comes from a poor family and works to support her family.

The accused men were booked under the Zina Act, Section 10 (4) and Sections 324 and 334 of the Azad Penal Code, which deal with attempting to murder and poisoning someone.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2016