Police arrest second suspect, hunt third in alleged assault of Azerbaijani woman

LAHORE: Police arrested a second suspect from Chishtian in the alleged sexual assault case involving an Azerbaijani woman and are searching for a third suspect.

According to investigators, the second suspect was brought to Lahore for further questioning.

Police said the two arrested suspects would be produced before a court on Tuesday as efforts to apprehend the third suspect continued.

The development came three days after the woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by three men in Lahore's Defence area.

Police had earlier arrested a man identified as Mohsin, whom they described as a key suspect, from Lahore. 

Two other people were also detained on suspicion of facilitating the alleged assault and were being questioned.

According to police, the incident took place on the night between Friday and Saturday after the Azerbaijani woman was taken to a cafe by two local women.

Police said the women had three male acquaintances at the cafe, where the foreign woman was given a substance suspected of being spiked with a drug before she was sexually assaulted.

The suspects later left the woman near the airport and fled, police said.

Police said a medical report issued on Monday contained findings related to the sexual assault.

Investigators also recovered a vehicle believed to have been used in the incident from the house of a relative of one of the suspects. Police said the relative had fled.

Police had earlier placed the suspects' names on the stop list and said they would record the woman's statement once she was medically fit to give it.

Investigators said the woman could understand and speak Urdu.

According to police, the woman had travelled to Lahore several times and was in the city in connection with her clothing business. She also regularly travelled between Lahore and Faisalabad for work.