RAWALPINDI: Police have registered a case against three persons for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in front of her nine-year-old son. One of the suspects nominated in the FIR was also arrested on Thursday while efforts are ongoing to trace the others, said a police spokesman.

The police registered the FIR on Wednesday on the complaint of the victim, a resident of Kahuta. The incident occurred about one-and-a-half months ago but she approached the police after the suspects shared a video of the incident on social media. The FIR stated that the woman was divorced by her husband after the alleged rapists posted her video on social media.

She said she was at her home with her son on May 26 when two men whom she identified by name along with their accomplice entered her house carrying pistols. One of the men held her son on gunpoint and the other pushed her on a bed, tore her clothes and sexually assaulted her. The other man made video of her. Later, she alleged, the two other suspects also raped.

The suspects also took away Rs700,000 and gold jewellery from her house. She said the suspects then started blackmailing her and demanding money.

She said they shared her video on social media after she refused to pay them money. She suffered another setback when her husband divorced her.

Separately, police have arrested the main suspect, a rickshaw driver, in the class eighth student’s rape case and also launched a man hunt for his two accomplices. A police spokesman said on Thursday that the main suspect claimed that he had married the girl and produced the nikah nama in addition to the video of his marriage.

However, the police said the marriage papers were yet to be verified. On the other hand, parents of the suspect also registered an FIR against the girl’s parents on the charge of forcibly taking away their daughter-in-law from their house.

The student was allegedly kidnapped and raped by three people in the limits of the Saddar Barooni police. The victim, a resident of Liaquat Colony on Chakri Road, registered an FIR with the police on Monday stating that on June 28 three young men came to her house and abducted her.

After about one-and-a-half hours’ drive, she was taken to a house and given water. She said after drinking the water she fell unconscious and was allegedly raped by the three persons.After her parents knew that their daughter had been abducted, they reached the house of the main suspect in Gujar Khan and brought her back.

Police officials close to the investigation said the girl had been in contact with the suspect for the last two months and had left her house on her own.

However, sources said the girl claimed her nikah with the suspect was made forcibly.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2021