Lahore police arrest key suspect in Azeri woman's gang-rape case

Lahore police have arrested one of the three suspects accused of gang-raping an Azeri woman in the city, according to the police. The victim, a 20-year-old woman, had arrived in Pakistan for business and was allegedly attacked in a rented flat near Raiwind on the night between Friday and Saturday. Deputy Inspector General of Investigation Zeeshan Raza confirmed the arrest to Dawn, stating that two other suspects are being sought.

The woman's medical report confirmed she was subjected to sexual assault. Lahore police had previously requested federal authorities to place the suspects' names on the Provisional National Identification List, as they had fled the city shortly after the incident. Two close relatives and a domestic servant of one of the suspects have also been taken into custody.

The vehicle allegedly used in the assault has been seized. The Azeri woman recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate at Cantonment Courts on Monday, a process that lasted over an hour. This marks the second gang-rape case involving a foreign woman in the Defence C police station area within the last four months; in June, two women from the Netherlands and Venezuela were allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted.