Fifteen days have passed since two armed men gang-raped a woman stranded on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway in front of her children. Yet 28 police teams encompassing 112 personnel are still unable to arrest prime suspect Abid Ali who is still at large and has managed to escape from the authorities over and over again.
In addition to this, the police have yet to recover looted cash and gold ornaments from Ali and his wife. So far, the police have conducted five raids so far in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sahiwal, and Nankana Sahib in order to arrest the accused. However, every time he succeeded in fleeing after dodging the police.
Earlier, the Punjab police handed over the task of arresting him to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). The authorities failed in nabbing Ali despite the use of the latest technology. Since then the CTD has been involved in the case.
In fact, even the Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) police turned out to be unsuccessful and have been unable to arrest Abid Ali. However, an investigation is ongoing from arrested suspect Shafqat in jail. Moreover, the brother of Ali’s brother-in-law Arif has also been detained.
The police have taken five more suspects in custody, who were in contact with the main suspect. It has been learned that Ali has fled to tribal areas to avoid an encounter with police.
Reportedly, the investigative sources have revealed that the prime accused was recently in contact with his relatives. Pictures of the suspects have also been released.
The suspect may change his appearance
According to the details, he has been to areas in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past as he stayed in Jamshoro, Buner, and Hangu. Police said teams had been sent to Sindh and K-P to arrest the criminal.
Whereas, at the same time, six different sketches have been prepared for Abid’s possible appearance. Earlier, on Friday, police had warned citizens and security personnel to be wary of the prime suspect as he may change his appearance in an attempt to hide his identity.
In one photo, Ali’s hair has been removed, in another, he is shown with only a mustache while the others show different combinations of hairstyles and facial hair. However, in all four of his photos, his primary features do not seem to be altered. Moreover, the authorities circulated various possible appearances that Abid may change into in order to avoid being caught.
Latest development in the case
The police have sent out his images via WhatsApp and plastered across police stations. In case anyone spots an individual bearing resemblance to one of the photos, he/she may inform authorities.
Besides this, the police have also released the tip-off numbers where any information regarding the prime suspect can be reported. In addition to this, a reward of Rs 2.5 million has been set for the person who assists in his arrest.
In the latest development, the CIA police arrested Abid’s wife Bushra. According to police sources, the arrested woman, Bushra is a resident of tehsil Tandlianwala, district Faisalabad and her marriage to Ali was her second one.
She and Ali had escaped authorities when they made an attempt to arrest Ali in Sheikhupura. Moreover, the daughter is in police custody after the parents abandoned her while escaping Police.
As of now, Ali’s ID card has been blocked. The police have maintained that the step is taken in order to stop the accused from fleeing abroad. Meanwhile, the entire nation is shocked by the motorway gang-rape incident.
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