LAHORE: A medical report has confirmed that a 20-year-old Azerbaijani woman was sexually assaulted in Lahore’s Defence area, police said on Monday.
The woman was allegedly assaulted by three men during the night between Friday and Saturday after being taken to a flat in the Defence area.
Police said they arrested a key suspect, identified as Mohsin, from a locality in Lahore on Sunday. Two other people were also taken into custody on suspicion of assisting the suspects, while raids were under way to arrest the two remaining alleged main suspects.
According to police, the woman was taken to a café by two local women, who had three male acquaintances there. The woman was allegedly given a drug-laced substance before being taken elsewhere and sexually assaulted by the three men.
The suspects later allegedly left the woman near the airport and fled, police said.
Investigators said the vehicle allegedly used to abduct the woman had been recovered from the residence of a relative of the main suspect. The relative was reportedly not present at the house.
Police also examined the woman’s travel history as part of the investigation.
According to officials, she first arrived in Lahore from Tashkent on March 4 on a foreign airline and stayed with Rida Hameed. She later travelled to Baku, Azerbaijan, on March 20.
Police said she returned to Pakistan on May 22, travelling from Baku, and stayed with a person identified as Rashid Ali.
The woman arrived in Lahore for a third time around 15 days ago, according to investigators. Police said she had travelled to the city in connection with the clothing business and regularly travelled between Lahore and Faisalabad for work.
Investigators also said the woman could understand and speak Urdu.
Police said further investigation was under way and raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining suspects.
