LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday concluded trial proceedings in the motorway gang-rape case after the defence completed its arguments.

Presiding Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta will announce the verdict on March 20 at the Camp Jail, where the two accused have been imprisoned.

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

The accused had sexually assaulted a Pakistan origin French woman in front of her children.

The prosecution presented 53 witnesses, including the survivor, the complainant of the FIR and the person who reported the incident on police emergency helpline.

The rape survivor recorded her statement and also identified suspects Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga, who confessed to have committed the crime in police custody, but later during the trial denied the charges.

Prime suspect Malhi had also snatched over Rs100,000 cash from the woman, which he claimed to have spent during the period he was hiding from the police.

The police report said the accused were traced with the help of record of their DNA samples, preserved by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2021