Police on Tuesday arrested three suspects over the alleged gang-rape and robbery of a woman in Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi area.

According to a statement by the Malir Police spokesperson Mohammed Imran, “Police arrested three suspects from the Ibrahim Hyderi area based on technical sources and intelligence information.”

The suspects were part of a group involved in the alleged gang-rape and robbery of a woman in the area, the statement said.

“The suspects not only looted gold ornaments, cash and valuables from the house but also allegedly raped the woman,” it added.

During the initial investigation, the suspects confessed to their involvement with two other accomplices, the statement said. “The suspects forcibly removed the woman’s earrings and fled with them,” it added.

Police said that they recovered one loaded pistol from the suspects.

It futher said that raids were being conducted at various locations to arrest the other two members of the gang. The statement continued, “The criminal records of the suspects are being further checked.”

Police said that they were taking legal action and further investigation was underway.

Despite the presence of laws such as Sections 375-A and 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which prescribe life imprisonment or death for gang rape and up to 25 years for rape, sexual violence against women remains pervasive.

Earlier this month, police arrested the primary suspect allegedly involved in the gang-rape of a girl in Ittehad Town.

In February, a sessions court sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for raping a minor boy in Lyari.

According to a report by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation, conviction rates remain dismally low, around 0.5 per cent nationwide in 2024 and under 5pc in other studies.

More than 500 women and underage girls were sexually assaulted in Karachi alone during the year 2023, which also saw 4,042 cases of physical assault on them, a police surgeon had told Dawn.com