Lahore: A new twist has emerged in the case of alleged gang-rape involving Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s grandson. Earlier, media reports did not disclose the reason, and behind the cruelty, a fresh news agency PTI report claimed a cryptocurrency trade linked to the case. According to the latest development, the medical examination of one of the victims has reportedly confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, ARY News reported, citing police sources. The victims claim the accused raped them, despite the fact that they were pleading to be left.
According to a report by PTI, two women - one from the Netherlands and the other from Venezuela – were allegedly abducted by a group of men on June 29 and gangraped in Lahore. The police have arrested four men, while one is absconding. They were sent to a five-day police custody by a Lahore court on Friday. One of the arrested men – Muhammad Raza Dar – was identified as the prime suspect in the case. Police sources told PTI that Raza Dar is Ishaq Dar's grandson.
Cryptocurrency twist in gangrape case
During the investigation, police have said, it emerged that Raza Dar met the two women in Singapore last year, and they were partners in a cryptocurrency venture. He arranged business visas for them for their visit to Pakistan. One of the alleged victims has accused her captors of sexual assault, armed intimidation and extortion in a statement recorded before a judicial magistrate.
According to local reports, Astrid Gabriela Robinson Bracho, the victim, recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, detailing the ordeal she and her friend, Stephani Adriana, allegedly endured after arriving in Pakistan.
Astrid claimed that shortly after reaching a residence in Lahore, armed men stormed the house where the two women were staying. The assailants allegedly restrained them and repeatedly demanded access to a computer containing cryptocurrency assets.
"They asked where the computer with the money was, and I told them it was in the green bag," Astrid said, according to ARY News. She further alleged that one of the accused, identified as Raza Dar, continued demanding passwords and access to the digital assets.
She alleged that one attacker struck her on the head while another threatened to kill both women if they refused to hand over the funds. "He told me if we gave them the money, we would live. If we didn't, they would kill us," she said in her statement.
"Took me to the bedroom and raped"
Astrid also alleged that she was later taken to an upstairs bedroom, where two men sexually assaulted her while another stood guard with a rifle.
"They were laughing, slapped me and told me to keep quiet when I started crying," she alleged before the magistrate.
According to her statement, Raza Dar also used her mobile phone to contact people she knew in an attempt to secure money. When no immediate response came, she later learnt that Stephani's mother had arranged to send USD 1,00,000. Investigators further said the suspects and the victims had previously invested between USD 4,00,000 and USD 5,00,000 in cryptocurrency, and the accused were allegedly demanding the return of the money.
Astrid alleged that after receiving the money, the accused told the women they were free to leave, returned their passports and drove them towards the airport.
During the journey, she claimed to have overheard one of the men saying over the phone, "The boss's instructions are different."
She further alleged that after the vehicle they were travelling in crashed, she and Stephani escaped, screamed for help and were rescued after passersby alerted a traffic police officer.
The allegations are part of the ongoing investigation, and authorities are continuing to probe the case.
(With inputs from PTI)
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