ISLAMABAD: Two men who raped a woman earlier this month at the capital’s largest F-9 park, were gunned down by police on Thursday, Islamabad Police said, adding that the exchange of fire took place after the suspects opened fire on police first.
According to a police report, two armed men took turns raping a woman at Islamabad’s F-9 or Fatima Jinnah Park. The victim, who filed a first information report (FIR) under Section 376 (punishment for rape) at the Margalla Police Station, said the incident took place on February 2.
As per a copy of the FIR seen by Arab News, the complainant says she was walking in the park with her colleague when two armed men took them at gunpoint to a nearby forest. There, they beat the woman and took turns raping her. Before leaving, the suspects threatened to call more of their friends to sexually assault her if she spoke of the incident, the report said.
On Wednesday, Islamabad Police shared a footage of two men traveling on a motorbike through one of the gates of the F-9 park. Police said the accused— who were armed at the time— had been identified through Safe City cameras, adding that steps would be taken to arrest them “as soon as possible.”
On Thursday, police said armed suspects had fired on a police checkpost in Islamabad’s D-12 area, adding that the suspects were killed when police returned fire.
“Both suspects were wanted in street crimes and serious criminal acts,” Islamabad Police wrote on Twitter. “One of them was wanted in a robbery-cum-murder. Both suspects were also involved in the rape of a woman at the F-9 park,” police wrote.
Police also said the suspects were taken to a hospital for treatment but they succumbed to their wounds.
The F-9 park rape incident triggered widespread anger on social media when the alleged rape came to light earlier this month. Rights activists, members of the civil society, and women from different walks of life attended a huge protest arranged by the Women Democratic Front (WDF), a socialist-feminist movement, at the F-9 park.
