LAHORE, May 1: Almost the entire family of the three women who were deprived of cash and valuables allegedly during a sexual assault bid on one of them by three constables of Shahdara police on April 28, has now been implicated in a theft case by Sheikhupura’s B-Division police, apparently in a move to force them to withdraw the case against the policemen.

Their family alleges that the two constables captured by the locals soon after the incident were enjoying `protocol’ at the police station during remand while their third accomplice, who was still at large, was also being protected by his colleagues, including his brother who is a driver at the Racecourse police station of Lahore.

The theft case has been registered against two male members of the family of rape bid complainant, Lubna, while two unidentified women have also been named in the FIR, which, according to the family, was in all probability an attempt to drag the complainant and her sister, Shamshad, also the victim of the constables’ hooliganism, in the theft case.

The family alleges that the police were employing different tactics to tackle a case registered against their own colleagues and take it to its ‘logical’ end in their `traditional’ way.

Nadeem Ahmad, brother of assault victim Lubna and Shamshad, told Dawn that Mustafa, a driver of the Racecourse police station and brother of the fleeing suspect, Sajid Ali, visited their Asifanabad Colony residence in Kot Abdul Malik twice and pressed them to withdraw the case.

On their refusal, he said, Mustafa got a fake case registered with B-Division police of Sheikhupura district on April 30 by hiring a complainant, Rana Muhammad Afzal, who stated that two brothers, Nadeem and Saleem, and two unidentified women (Lubna and Shamshad) had stolen 22-tola jewellery from his Dubai Jewellers on April 28.

“The B-Division police led by its SHO raided our house on Wednesday evening, conducted search of all rooms, thrashed women of the family and took his brother Saleem along with them,” he said.

Earlier, he said, constable Mustafa along with some “scoundrels” came to their house just before the raid and hurled threats in case the family kept on pursuing the case against Sajid.

Lubna’s father Bashir Ahmad told Dawn that investigation police were not cooperating with them in arresting Sajid and recovering their snatched valuables. “Rather, they are giving full protocol to the two arrested constables.”

Shahdara investigation in-charge Inspector Mian Zulfikar was also urging the family to reconcile with the suspects, otherwise they could face problems, Bashir alleged.

He said in order to extend favour to the accused, the police without intimating to the complainant, got a medical report, which allegedly established that the constables were not under the influence of liquor.

According to the first information report lodged by Lubna, constables Sajid, Amjad and Afzal, who were standing at a picket on Saggian Road and were under the influence of liquor, stopped the motorcycle rickshaw she, her sister Shamshad and another relative Hafeezan Bibi were travelling on, took driver Pervaiz Iqbal at gunpoint and later tried to molest her (complainant).

They dragged her towards a garden and tried to pour liquor in her mouth besides snatching Rs25,000 in cash, a cell phone and a gold locket from her, she added.In the meantime, her sister Shamshad raised an alarm besides calling her family members on a cell phone. Passers-by gathered on the spot and caught two accused while their third accomplice fled on a car.

An FIR was lodged with Shahdara police under Sections 376/511 and 380 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 155 of the Police Order 2002 against the three constables.

Inspector Zulfikar told Dawn that police raids were being conducted and in this connection their teams had raided constable Sajid’s residence in Sahianwala in Faisalabad district thrice, but to no avail.

He said the accused constables should not have should have allowed the women to continue their journey.

“Initial interrogation and medial reports suggest that the constables had not consumed liquor, but they did hurl abuses at the driver and the women,” he said adding, “However, no rape was committed”.

He said investigation of the case would complete after the arrest of constable Sajid and his subsequent interrogation.

The inspector said the two constables were on a three-day physical remand and would be produced before the court on Saturday.

He said blood and urine samples of both the arrested accused had already been sent for examination.

He said the victims had not furnished their statements about two other suspects, who had also misbehaved with them, collected their cash and valuables and fled on a car. He denied the impression that the police were forcing the family to withdraw the case.

City Investigations SP Sarfraz Ahmad Falki said the police would soon arrest the third accused and the case was being investigated on merit.

Regarding the allegations levelled by the victims’ family against the local investigations police, he said he would interrogate thoroughly after summoning both the complainant as well as the accused party.