Lahore court grants four more days of remand in foreign women kidnapping case
The suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mehmood after completing their earlier remand. Among them is a suspect who is reportedly related to a senior political figure.
During the hearing, the investigating officer told the court that police had recovered the suspects’ mobile phones and the vehicle allegedly used in the crime. However, the recovery of money believed to be linked to the case is still pending.
The Lahore foreign women kidnapping case came to light after two foreign women, one from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela, were rescued following an alleged ordeal that lasted several days.
According to investigators, the women were allegedly kidnapped, physically assaulted, sexually abused and subjected to an extortion attempt involving a demand for millions of dollars.
Defence lawyers opposed the request for further remand. They argued that police had made little progress during the previous custody period and claimed that no identification parade had been conducted.
The lawyers also questioned why additional suspects had been included in the investigation. Despite these objections, the court allowed police to keep all four suspects in custody for another four days to complete the probe.
Read Also: Lahore foreign women case: DIG says no special treatment for ‘minister-linked suspect’
In a related development, a Lahore sessions court dismissed the interim pre-arrest bail of the SHO of Defence C police after he failed to appear before the court.
The officer is accused of unlawfully entering the residence of the judicial magistrate hearing the Lahore foreign women kidnapping case and allegedly attempting to influence judicial proceedings.
Earlier, Lahore police had said that the investigation would continue without political pressure, despite reports linking the prime suspect to a senior political figure.
The case includes serious charges under Sections 365-A (kidnapping for extortion) and 375-A (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code, while investigators continue collecting evidence.
