Waqarul Hassan was among the two suspects identified by the Punjab government for alleged involvement in the rape of a woman on the motorway near Gujjurpura. The key suspect, Abid Ali, still eludes police and raids are being made to arrest him, according to Geo News.
According to the report, Waqar surrendered himself at the Model Town police station on Sunday. He told the police that his brother-in-law was using his mobile phone. “He refused to surrender himself along with me but he may do so soon. He was involved in some criminal activities with Abid Ali and is still in contact with him,” Waqar was quoted by Geo News as saying.
He also expressed his willingness to undergo a DNA test to prove his innocence.
The family of the suspect said their son was not involved in any crime, as he worked at his shop in Qilla Sattar Shah and was not a thief.
"My son is a pious and religious person, his life should be spared," his mother said, adding: "He runs a motorcycle repairing shop in Qilla Sattar Shah." "If my son was a culprit, why would he present himself [to the law enforcement agencies]," she asked.
Rape on motorway:
A woman was allegedly raped by two men in front of her children after her car ran out of gas near Gujjarpura, Lahore.
Police said the woman, a resident of Gujranwala, was returning to the city from Lahore on Tuesday night when her car ran out of petrol.
Geo News reported that the woman called her husband, who advised her to call Motorway Police for help until he got there. However, the Motorway Police operator excused from helping the woman, saying the emergency beat had not been assigned to anyone.
As she was left to her own devices on the deserted road, two armed men approached the vehicle and smashed its windows. They then took the woman and her children out of the car and took them into a nearby field after cutting the fence along the road to rape her. The report said the woman was also deprived of Rs100,000, jewelry, and ATM cards.
Protests against incident:
Human rights activists and people from civil society in major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi held demonstrations against the incident. People demanded of the government to take measures in order to control such brutal and barbaric elements from the society.
Aurat March Lahore along with other progressive outfits also arranged a protest at Lahore's Liberty Chowk. Their demands included structural reform of police that focuses on accountability and transparency to the most vulnerable members of the community, immediate measures to improve the safety of public spaces without employing paternalistic measures such as curfews, and an introduction of victim and witness protection programmes.