A Lahore court has granted police a further five-day physical remand of four suspects, including Raza Dar, in the ongoing investigation into the alleged abduction and sexual assault of two foreign women, one from Venezuela and the other from the Netherlands. The suspects including Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Iskandar Khan and Sajid Ali, were produced before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mehmood in the Lahore Cantt Katchehri after the completion of their previous five-day physical remand.

Police requested additional custody to continue the investigation, and the court approved the request. During the hearing, the prosecutor informed the court that DNA fingerprint tests of the accused had already been completed. However, investigators still needed to recover a vehicle, laptops, cash and a weapon believed to be relevant to the inquiry. Lawyers representing Iskandar Khan and Sajid Ali opposed the request for further remand, arguing that their clients had no involvement in the alleged offences.

Defence counsel Salman Shahid maintained that the matter was related to a cryptocurrency dispute rather than allegations of abduction or rape. The defence also questioned whether the Federal Investigation Agency had been involved in investigating the cryptocurrency aspect of the case. Counsel argued that Sajid Ali worked as a security guard and had no connection with cryptocurrency, while another accused was employed in Islamabad and was similarly unrelated to the alleged activities. The lawyers further claimed that their clients had been implicated because of widespread media coverage and argued that they were being subjected to a "media trial".

They also questioned the status of another suspect, identified as Boss, asking whether he had been produced before any court. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted police an additional five days of physical remand to continue the investigation. Also on Wednesday, the Prosecutor General of Punjab appointed two prosecutors for the perusal of the case. Sajid and Irum Riaz will monitor the ongoing investigation into the case. In a significant development in the case on Monday, the DNA of three suspects matched with one of the foreign women.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)