LAHORE – A court on Friday approved a five‑day physical remand for four suspects detained over the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of two foreign women.
On Thursday, authorities charged five individuals with kidnapping for ransom and sexual assault involving two foreign women from the Netherlands and Venezuela; four of the suspects were later apprehended.
The FIR states that the women were abducted by five suspects — one of whom is a close relative of a senior political figure — who demanded a ransom and sexually assaulted the victims while they were held captive.
On Friday, the investigating officer from Defence C Police Station presented four of the suspects, their faces masked, before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mehmood at the Cantonment Courts.
At the start of the proceedings, the magistrate ordered the suspects to take off their masks.
The public prosecutor urged the magistrate to impose a 14‑day physical remand, noting that the victims had identified the primary suspect and that the case had tarnished Pakistan’s reputation.
The magistrate, however, approved only a five‑day remand; among those released to police custody was the relative of a senior political figure.
He further directed the investigating officer to bring the suspects back to court on July 8, after the remand period ends.
According to the FIR, the suspects allegedly demanded a $1.5 million ransom before sexually assaulting the foreign nationals.