RAWALPINDI: Continuing their investigation into the sexual assault of a university student, the police will interview people close to the male suspect, as they believe he is concealing information that could help reveal his facilitators, if there are any.

A source close to the investigation told Dawn that the suspect revealed during the preliminary investigation that he was using two mobile phones. He did not reveal the existence of a third phone, which the police later discovered and sent to the IT section to obtain its call data records (CDR).

The source said the male suspect holds a masters degree in history and is an IT expert. He used to work in car sales before giving it up, and married a nurse at a private hospital two years ago.

In addition to seeking assistance from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), the police have also sought the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) help with an analysis of the suspect’s laptop computer and mobile phones.

“The FIA’s legal expert will review the police request and then they will cross-examine the accused,” a senior police official said. The suspect has already been interrogated by police.

He said the police suspect that the man may have shared pornographic videos with someone abroad, but this has yet to be confirmed. The police have so far recovered 10 pornographic videos from the suspect’s mobile phone and sent them to the PFSA for analysis.

The police are also awaiting details of transactions he made during the last year from the State Bank. In addition, the FIA has been asked to provide a travel history of the couple, both of whom are charged with abducting and sexually assaulting 45 girls and women.

The male suspect has previously travelled to several countries, including Thailand, Azerbaijan, Dubai and Turkey, while the female suspect travelled to Dubai.

The suspects have been in police remand custody and confessed to abducting and sexually assaulting 45 victims. The police have also contacted some victims and asked them to come forward so more cases can be registered against the suspects, but no one has expressed willingness to do so yet.

People from the suspects’ neighbourhood have been interviewed, and the police have now decided to investigate people with links to the male suspect. However, his father has not yet been contacted.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2019