RAWALPINDI: The woman who passed away on Sunday after allegedly being raped and stabbed travelled with the suspect to get an amulet from a spiritual healer as she wanted to have another child.

Meanwhile, another woman was allegedly raped in Kahuta on Saturday, police said.

A source close to the investigation revealed that the woman, who was a beggar, regularly visited spiritual healers (pirs). She had been living with her uncle in Rawat while her husband lived in Sahiwal. The bodies of both the mother and her son were shifted to their native town Vehari where they were laid to rest on Monday. A police official also accompanied the coffins.

Separate police teams were constituted to trace the suspect who has been missing since the incident came to light, with one team dispatched to his native town in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Police are hopeful that the suspect will be traced and arrested soon.

According to a police official, the victim’s statement could not be recorded due to her critical condition. She had sustained a stab wound on her neck.

The 30-year-old woman was allegedly raped and later stabbed in front of her 14-month old son Gulfam, who was also stabbed in the neck at the crime scene. The victim’s son passed away on way to the hospital.

Separately, a woman approached the police and got a first information report (FIR) lodged, in which she stated that she travelled to Kahuta with the suspect in his car on July 24 who took her to his aunt’s house.

She said upon reaching his aunt’s house, she was taken to a room on the pretext of being offered tea. As soon as she entered the room, the door was locked from outside by someone, the victim stated in the FIR, adding that she was threatened by the suspect who then raped her.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2021