ATC indicts two suspects

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday indicted two suspects in the motorway gang rape case and also recorded statements of ten prosecution witnesses in the jail.

Both prime suspect Abid Malhi and co-suspect Shafqat Bagga pleaded not guilty and the presiding judge directed the prosecution to present its witnesses.

A special team of prosecutors presented the witnesses who recorded their statements and the judge adjourned hearing for Thursday (today).

As many as 53 prosecution witnesses had been enlisted in the investigation report including the victim woman, the complainant of the FIR and the person who reported the incident on police emergency helpline.

As per the prosecution, the victim identified the suspects during an “identification parade” in the presence of a judicial magistrate. The police recorded the statement of the victim thrice.

The police recovered a pistol and a club, used in the crime, from the custody of the suspects besides a recovery of their mobile phones. The prime suspect, Malhi, had snatched cash over Rs 100,000 from the victim, which he during hiding from the police. However, the police are yet to recover gold bangles and ATM cards, which Malhi had snatched from the victim.