RAWALPINDI: A woman was allegedly raped by two men at gunpoint in Rawalpindi, police reported on Sunday.

The victim, a single mother, was allegedly lured to a commercial building on Double Road using her co-worker by the two suspects.

When the alleged victim approached the New Town police to lodge a complaint, she was reportedly forced to reconcile with the suspects.

A video statement of the victim also surfaced online in which she could be heard alleging harassment and maltreatment at the hands of police personnel at the New Town police station.

A case was registered only after City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani intervened.

The victim told the police that she lived with her parents after a divorce and worked at a call centre to earn a living. On January 14, she received a call from her female colleague who asked her to come to a commercial building on Double Road, promising her a better job.

She said in the FIR that when she reached the place, she found two unknown individuals sitting there. The victim alleged that she was held at gunpoint and raped. The suspects also reportedly filmed the crime and threatened her not to disclose the matter to anybody.

The twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad constantly report crimes of similar nature which have raised concerns about the safety of vulnerable individuals, especially women going through pressing times.

In December last year, a woman, who was attending her ailing teenage daughter in the children’s ward of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), was allegedly raped by a security guard in the toilet of the hospital.

Police registered a case and arrested the suspect.

The rape victim, 30, a resident of Attock, lodged an FIR with the Waris Khan police saying that she had been attending her nine-year-old ailing daughter in the children’s ward of the hospital.

She said when she went to the washroom, a security guard followed her and entered the washroom and forcibly raped her. The victim said following the incident, she also tried to commit suicide.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2025