ISLAMABAD: In a terrible mugging incident that unfolded near a well-known food chain outside F-9 Park, Islamabad, a group of women was allegedly assaulted and robbed of 10 tolas of gold jewellery and Rs2 million in cash.
Disturbing footage of the incident, which shows the assailants physically attacking the women and dragging them by their hair, has sparked widespread outrage on social media and raised serious concerns over public safety in the capital.
According to the first information report (FIR), filed at Margalla Police Station on the complaint of one of the victims, the prime suspect, identified as Jamal, along with his accomplices, intercepted the women on February 23.
The suspects brutally assaulted them and forcibly took their gold jewellery and cash before fleeing the scene.
An Islamabad police spokesperson confirmed that an FIR was lodged following the incident and immediate action was taken. The police arrested the main suspect and obtained his three-day physical remand.
Following interrogations, the stolen items were recovered, and a charge sheet was presented in court. The suspect has now been sent to jail on judicial remand.
The FIR has been lodged under five sections of the PPC — 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 392 (punishment for robbery), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).
Authorities have assured that efforts are underway to apprehend any remaining suspects involved in the crime.
In the FIR, the woman mentioned that she and her daughters were present outside a fast food restaurant on Sunday at around 7:45pm, when a man in a high-end vehicle parked right in front of their car.
The woman, Hajra Mushtaq, identified the driver of the high-end vehicle as Jamal, who, with his associates, approached their vehicle, which her daughter was driving, and attempted to seize it. He was armed with a pistol, she mentioned.
“When I intervened and tried to reason with him, Jamal and his friends subjected us to severe physical assault. They dragged me and my daughters by our hair and beat us mercilessly,” the FIR mentions.
They also brandished a pistol and forcibly took our bags, she said, which contained Rs2 million in cash and 10 tolas of gold. “They threatened to kill us before fleeing in their vehicle.”
“Bystanders recorded the incident on video, which we have provided to the police as evidence. They tore my young daughter’s clothes and assaulted us.”
