In a major breakthrough in the motorway gang-rape case, police have identified the prime suspect. Some 53 DNA samples were taken for the rapist to be identified to see if they matches with the woman who was raped in front of her children on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway late Wednesday.
One of the samples taken from the crime scene has matched with DNA already in the Punjab Forensic Authority’s database. Authorities decided on Friday to go for the DNA census of the population of the nearby villages and collected 53 DNA samples. These were sent to the PFA for testing to find suspects involved in the brutal sexual assault.
Earlier, they said it would take 10 days for the results. However, the authority also ran the DNA samples found at the crime scene through its system and got a match.
Taking to Twitter to share the news, Dr Gill congratulated Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani, Lahore Capital City Police Officer Umar Sheikh and the entire team.
Two unidentified men raped a woman in front of her children on the motorway. The lady ran out of fuel near Lahore’s Gujjar Pura when she was driving to Gujranwala.
While she sat in her vehicle, two men walked towards her car and broke her window. They took the woman and her children to the nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. After brutally gang-raping her, the men fled, taking with them three ATM cards, 100,000 in cash and jewelry.
Prime suspect’s DNA matches with 2013 criminal database
The DNA match found as the motorway rapist is identified who is a 27-year-old man, Abid Ali, who raped a mother and daughter in 2013, according to police sources.
The police found his DNA at three spots at the crime scene– the victim’s clothes, the smashed car window, as well as inside the car itself.
Abid has a vast criminal background. The police said the DNA of the accused has been found in the 2013 data samples. Moreover, the prime accused is a resident of Fort Abbas, a town in the Bahawalnagar district of Punjab.
The authorities said an investigation was being carried out according to the latest scientific methods. In addition to this, they assured that the culprits will be nabbed soon.
CM Buzdar said this was a test case. Moreover, it will be brought to a logical conclusion soon. He also added that the culprits will be given exemplary punishments. Moreover, he directed the authorities to keep him informed of the entire case progress.
The authority has sent his details to the Punjab Police. Besides this, the police currently have 15 people in custody. Another 25 suspects who already have recorded have locked their homes and fled.
On the other hand, the police contacted the victim to record her statement. However, her family apologized for not recording the statement citing that her health condition was not good at the moment. The focal person said it is understandable and agreed to record the statement later.
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