Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah on Wednesday took notice of the Hafizabad gang-rape incident and declared it a “high-profile” case for the police to pursue.

Last week, Hafizabad police launched raids to arrest eight suspects who allegedly abducted a couple in Hafizabad and subjected them to physical and sexual assault.

A first information report (FIR) filed by the husband at the Kasoki Police Station said that the incident occurred on April 25 when the complainant and his wife were on a motorcycle and they stopped for a bit. As the wife got off the motorcycle, a man came towards them who verbally abused and hit her, it stated.

A group of armed men later arrived and took the couple to a secluded place near a graveyard, the FIR said, detailing how the couple were subjected to physical violence, sexual assault, and robbery.

According to a press release issued by the prosecutor general’s office today, the prosecutor general declared the case as “high-profile”, summoning the investigating officer (IO) along with the record under Section (3)10C of the Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service Act, 2006.

The IO appeared with the record and briefed the Punjab government official regarding the investigation, it said.

“The prosecutor general of Punjab issued a line of inquiry and instructed the IO to complete the investigation on merit,” the press release added.

Shah was quoted as saying that, according to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, it was the responsibility of the state to protect the honour and dignity of women.

“The state will use all its resources to bring the culprits to justice,” he added.

On June 5, one of the four suspects involved in the incident was allegedly killed in the firing by his own accomplices during an “encounter” with a Crime Control Department (CCD) team near Jorian bridge in Kassoki police precincts, Hafizabad district.

Sources in the CCD said the police had been informed about the presence of the suspects, upon which a team conducted a raid on a premises near Jorrian bridge along an open drain. On seeing the police party, the armed men had opened fire, which was returned by the policemen.

The sources had said that when the firing stopped, the police had found a body which was identified as that of one of the four gang-rape suspects. The sources claimed the suspect was killed in his accomplices’ firing.

They said that the remaining suspects had managed to flee the scene.

Investigation into the incident had taken a new turn a day later when two policemen were arrested for freeing an alleged rapist after taking bribe a few days after the April 25 incident.

Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency had placed the names of two of the four alleged rapists on the Provisional National Identification List following reports that they were trying to escape abroad.

The list is maintained by the agency to prevent the travel or escape of individuals involved in “heinous crimes”.

Despite the presence of anti-rape laws — with punishment for rape either resulting in the death penalty or imprisonment of between 10 and 25 years — cases continue to prevail in the country.

In March, Punjab police arrested three suspects for allegedly gang-raping a woman in Lahore.