Foreign women abduction case: FIR registered against Lahore SHO, two policemen

LAHORE: A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the SHO of Defence C police station and two police personnel for allegedly illegally entering the official residence of a judicial magistrate and issuing threats, in connection with the case involving the alleged abduction and rape of foreign women by Raza Dar, ARY News reported.

According to the FIR, registered on the complaint of the watchman of the Judicial Rest House in Dharampura, SHO Faryad Ashraf and two police officials have been booked for allegedly trespassing into the government residence of Judicial Magistrate Cantt Azhar Mahmood and intimidating those present.

The complainant alleged that the SHO and the armed police personnel forcibly entered the judicial officer’s residence while carrying weapons and threatened the occupants.

The FIR further states that the SHO allegedly pressured Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mahmood to speak with senior police officers over the phone.

A separate request has also been submitted to the Inspector General (IG) of Punjab, seeking disciplinary action against the Defence C SHO and two unidentified police officials over the incident.

According to sources, the Defence C SHO was immediately line-closed following the serious incident pending further inquiry.

Earlier, a court in Lahore handed over four suspects to police on a five-day physical remand in a case involving the alleged abduction and rape of two foreign women in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area.

The suspects have been identified as Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sikandar Khan and Sajid Ali.

During the proceedings, police requested physical custody of the suspects, stating that weapons and alleged proceeds of the crime were yet to be recovered and that further investigation was required to complete the probe.

The court was informed that Raza Dar was nominated in the FIR, while three additional suspects were later named in supplementary statements.

Accepting the police request, the court approved a five-day physical remand and directed investigators to complete the inquiry and submit a report. The accused have been ordered to be produced again on 8 July for further proceedings.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the foreign nationals and the prime suspect, identified as Raza Dar, were reportedly involved in a financial dispute related to cryptocurrency.

Investigators claim the suspect was due to receive approximately US$1.5 million from the women, an amount estimated at around Rs450 million.

Police are also investigating allegations that Raza Dar, a relative of Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, lured the women to Pakistan under false pretences before allegedly staging a kidnapping. Investigators further claim the suspect included himself in the purported abduction to make the incident appear genuine.