(Karachi) CCPO Lahore Omar Shaikh has said that the police got a lead in Motorway rape incident and the case would be resolved soon. Omar said his sympathies are with the victim and her family and the accused will be punished at all costs.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore hours after people criticised him for blaming the victim for the incident, Shaikh said that the tragic incident occurred within a limit of three to four kilometers.
He said that DNA samples of suspected persons have been taken and sent for examination. The CCPO said that the police have gathered evidence and blood samples from the site of the incident and investigation is being carried out at a fast pace.
"We are focussing on CCTV footages to nab the culprits behind the gory incident," Shaikh added.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to PM ON Accountability Shahzad Akbar said: "We condemn the Motorway incident and it is the duty of the state to punish those responsible."
He added crime has been committed and the culprits should be brought to justice.
Earlier, the CCPO blamed the Motorway rape incident on the victim in an interview to a private TV channel.
He said that the woman should have not travelled alone and taken the GT Road route which has population on both sides. Shaikh also stated the victim should have checked the fuel in her car before travelling as there is no petrol station on the Motorway.
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The CCPO's comments were promptly condemned on social media for blaming the victim and putting the onus of preventing a crime on the victim instead of the perpetrators or law enforcement authorities.
On September 9, a woman was allegedly gang raped during a robbery bid in Gujjarpura along the recently inaugurated Lahore-Sialkot Motorway. The new Motorway currently has no rest stops or service stations as of yet.
Police said the victim was travelling with her children in a car when the vehicle stalled due to lack of petrol. She called a relative and sent him her location on the Motorway. When the relative arrived at the location, he saw the victim driving the car towards them with broken window panes.
The woman told police that she was waiting for the family to arrive to pick her and the children when two armed assailants allegedly attacked her.
One suspect hit the car with clubs and the other held them hostage at gunpoint. The attackers then took her and the children to a nearby forested area where the victim claims they gang raped her. Later on, they robbed her of valuables and left her stranded.
Meanwhile, at least 12 men have been taken into custody over their suspected involvement in the rape.