LAHORE: The Lahore police on Sunday arrested nine suspects, including two women, on charges of honey trapping, abducting and robbing renowned playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar.

The incident came to light when he lodged a complaint with the Sundar police on July 20.

According to the complaint, Qamar received a call from a woman, identified as Amna Urooj, late at night on July 15, inviting him to her house in Bahria Town to discuss a drama project. He went to the house in Bahria Town whose location was shared by the woman.

“I was sitting with the woman when someone knocked on the door and the woman told me that it might be some delivery boy as she had ordered some food,” Qamar said in the first information report (FIR).

The suspects include two women

He added that seven armed men entered the room, held him at gunpoint and ordered him to hand them over his belongings, including his car’s keys, Rs6,000 cash and a mobile phone worth Rs110,000. The suspects got his ATM card and went to a nearby bank to withdraw Rs267,000 cash after forcibly getting the PIN (personal identification number) from him.

Mr Qamar further stated that the suspects took him to various locations in the car, tortured him emotionally and physically before leaving him at a deserted location and running away.

The Sundar Police Station registered a case of robbery and abduction against the unidentified suspects and launched the investigation.

A senior police official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that a special police team was constituted to arrest the suspects. He said the investigation revealed that the playwright was honey trapped by a woman who, along with her accomplices, abducted and robbed him.

He said nine suspects, including two women, were arrested and the police also recovered all the belongings of the playwright. The officer did not reveal the names of the arrested suspects. A press conference by the police on the matter is expected today.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024