KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Saturday remanded in judicial custody the owner of a private school in Gulshan-i-Hadeed for his alleged involvement in rape of several women.

On Sept 4, the police had booked and arrested the principal and owner of the private school after several compromising videos filmed at his office had gone viral on social media.

On the last hearing, two women had recorded their statements under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) and deposed that the suspect had lured them by prospects of employment at his school, raped them and also filmed the crime in order to blackmail them.

After the end of his physical remand, the investigating officer produced the suspect in court and submitted that initial investigations had been completed.

The magistrate sent the suspect to prison on judicial remand and directed the IO to file an investigation report by the next date of hearing.

A case was registered against the suspect under Sections 376 (punishment of rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 25 of the Telegraph Act on behalf of the state at the Steel Town police station.

Initially, the police had claimed that there were around 45 victims and the suspect had been blackmailing them, but so far only two victims had come forward to record their testimonies.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2023