LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday denied further custody of the prime suspect in Sialkot motorway gang-rape incident to the police and sent him to jail on judicial remand.

The police produced Abid Malhi before the court after expiry of his physical remand.

The investigating officer requested the court to extend the custody of the suspect for another 15 days as the investigation was still under way.

However, Presiding Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta turned down the request and sent the suspect to jail on judicial remand. The judge directed the IO to submit the investigation report on the next hearing.

Gujjarpura police had lodged the FIR No.1369/20 under sections 376, 392 and 427 of Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Malhi and co-suspect Shafqat Ali alias Bagga had sexually assaulted a French woman of Pakistani origin after dragging her out from her car that stopped during the late night travel on the motorway after fuel ran out.

Both suspects had confessed to their crime during the police custody while Bagga also recorded his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate under section 124 of CrPC.

The victim woman also identified the suspects during the identification parade conducted in Central Jail Kot Lakhpat.

REMAND: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday allowed Islampura police to have physical custody of a man for 10 days in a murder case of two brothers inside the sessions court.

The suspect identified as Muhammad Kafeel alias Balli had on Monday shot dead Riyasat Nazir and Bilal Nazir inside bakhshi khana of the sessions court when they were brought from the jail to attend the proceedings of a murder case against them.

The suspect told the police that the two brothers had killed his mother.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2020