Islamabad: A local court in Islamabad has granted a three-day physical remand of two men accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a flat located inside Centaurus shopping mall, police said on Tuesday.
The suspects identified as Faisal Jalal and Hafeezullah, were produced before Judicial Magistrate Mureed Abbas by Islamabad Police. The investigating officer requested physical remand for conducting medical and forensic examinations of the accused.
The court accepted the request, ordering the police to present the suspects again upon the completion of the remand and to submit a detailed progress report at the next hearing.
According to police and the First Information Report (FIR) filed at Margalla Police Station, the alleged victim had arrived 10 days earlier in Islamabad from a village near Arifwala in search of employment. She had been seeking job opportunities through Facebook when she was contacted by one of the suspects under the pretense of a call center position. This centre was located in G9 area of Islamabad.
On October 21, she was allegedly lured to a private shopping mall by Faisal, where Hafeezullah then escorted her to a residential flat. The FIR states that the two men then forcibly assaulted her, also subjecting her to physical violence. The accused also threatened to end her life if she spoke out. She made noise and gathered people when they were dragging her down the Mall, police reached the spot and apprehended the alleged accused.
Police said the arrests were made promptly after the woman reported the incident through the emergency helpline. Both suspects were taken into custody from the scene.
The court has directed the police to complete their investigation within the remand period and to produce the accused for the next hearing, along with an update on the case’s progress.
