ISLAMABAD: Separate teams have been constituted to arrest the suspect who raped a police official in the capital.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed Mohammad Amin Bukhari told Dawn that he was personally supervising the investigations and two separate teams have been constituted in this regard. The teams are headed by superintendents of police from the rural zone and the Crime Investigation Agency.

SSP Bukhari said the teams are trying to find suspects in the case, and some individuals, including the victim’s husband, have been interrogated.

Police said the official, a constable with the Anti-Terrorism Squad, was attacked on her way home from a police station on Saturday night.

They said she was living with her parents in Khanna Dak and worked in the second shift. She was usually picked up from a bus stop on the Expressway by her father.

On Saturday, the official finished work at round 9:45pm and left for home armed and in uniform. She waited for her father at the bus stop, and when he did not show up she began walking home. She was attacked by someone from behind and overpowered, police said.

The suspect took her to a wooded area, where she was physically assaulted and lost consciousness. Police said that when she regained consciousness she had been raped and abandoned in the wooded area.

The victim managed to get to a nearby road, and she was taken home by a passerby. The attack was later brought to the attention of the police, and the official was taken to a hospital for medical and legal process.

A case has also been registered with the Kural police against an unidentified individual under PPC section 376 and the Anti-Terrorism Act. In her statement, the official described the suspect as a strong man with a moustache dressed in shalwar kameez.

She also told police she was married a year ago but then returned to her parents’ home after two months. A number of jirgas were held to settle the issue between her and her husband, but they were not successful, the police quoted her as saying.

A police officer told Dawn a couple of people were picked up, including the victim’s husband, and interrogated by the teams investigating the incident. Their presence at the time of the attack is being checked and verified, he said.

Investigators are also seeking assistance from technology and experts to identify the suspect, the officer said. They have found some vital clues, he said, on which work is ongoing.

The officer said the initial medical examination suggested the victim was sexually assaulted by one person.

Another police officer said the case was a test for the police. He said crime was rising sharply in the capital and residents were losing confidence in the police.

“If a policewoman armed and in uniform is not secure in the capital, how can other women and girls feel they are safe in the capital,” he asked.

Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi also visited the official in hospital on Monday.

He said every possible measure is being taken to ensure the culprit is arrested, and effective measures need to be taken during patrolling hours – particularly for women – to prevent incidents such as this.

Mr Afridi met with the victim’s family, and also directed for the victim to be shifted to a private hospital for better treatment.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2018