Armed men who fired at Islamabad police were F-9 park rape suspects: police

The suspects in the F-9 rape case succumbed to their injuries after they opened fire Wednesday night at a police checkpoint in Islamabad's D-12, the capital police confirmed on Thursday.

In a series of Twitter posts, the Islamabad police said the men were wanted in "serious" criminal cases, including the F-9 rape case. One of the men was an accomplice in the case of a murder during a robbery, the police said.

Earlier in the day, the capital police said that the men had opened fire at a D-12 police checkpoint, but that police personnel were not harmed due to "safety measures". The men were shifted to a hospital, but could not survive, the Islamabad police said, not clarifying how the suspects were injured.

The suspects tried to escape to avoid arrest, sources in the police, meanwhile, said, adding that they were killed in retaliatory fire by the police.

A day earlier, the Islamabad police had said that two suspects in the F-9 park rape case had been identified and traced, but no arrest had been made. The capital police shared on Twitter the progress in the investigation into the shocking rape case in which two men are suspected of raping a woman at gunpoint earlier this month.

"It is requested to avoid speculations related to this case under investigation," the Islamabad police had tweeted and asked people to inform the authorities if they have any information about the suspects.

The police had traced the suspect through Safe City cameras. In footage shared by the police on Twitter, two men could be seen riding a motorcycle and passing through the gate of the F-9 park.

The men were armed at the time of the incident, according to the Islamabad police.

According to the police, the case against the suspects has been registered at the Margalla police station.

Inspector-General of Islamabad Police Akbar Nasir Khan had said that the unfortunate incident took place at an unlit part of the park.

Khan, while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, also added that the police had not yet made any arrests in connection with the rape and will only do so once they have obtained solid evidence.

F-9 park rape case

Two armed men raped a woman in Islamabad’s F-9 park at gunpoint on February 2. The case surfaced in the news two days later, leaving the nation shocked at the audacity of the criminals who approached the victim — accompanied by her colleague — at the park, according to the first information report (FIR).

The FIR further stated that the gun-toting aggressors took the two to a nearby thicket at gunpoint and separated them. The attackers then beat the young woman up when she pleaded with them to let her go and even offered them money in exchange for her safety, the FIR read.

When the victim tried to raise her voice, she was beaten and threatened by the attackers who said they would call their "friends" to join them. Her attempts to run away were also foiled by the attackers, the FIR stated.

As they were leaving into a nearby thicket, the alleged culprits returned "all our things and gave us Rs1,000 to stay quiet" while also telling the victim that she should not be in the park at “this” time of the night, according to the FIR.

The suspects, as per the police, were being traced through CCTV footage and Safe City cameras. Officials of F-9 park were also being interrogated to find clues about the suspects, the police personnel added.

Hospital sources also confirmed that the victim underwent a medical examination at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

According to the sources, marks of torture were found on the girl’s body and samples taken from the victim were sent to the forensic laboratory for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests, which later confirmed that marks consistent with sexual assault were found on the 24-year-old victim's body.