• Staffers on Bahauddin Zakariya Express gang-raped mother of two in moving train.
• Forensic lab’s report shows DNA of three accused found in victim’s sample.
• Victim identifies three of five arrested accused.

In a major development in the Bahauddin Zakariya Express gang-rape case, the DNA of the three accused men was found in the samples taken from the woman, it emerged on Friday.

A 25-year-old woman, mother of two children, travelling to Karachi from Multan via a train service running under the private sector was gang-raped by two ticket checkers, their in-charge and two others on May 27, 2022. Five suspects have so far been arrested in the case with three of them caught on just the day after the gang-rape was reported.

Sources affiliated with the prosecution said that the DNA profiling report issued by a Lahore-based forensic agency revealed that the samples from three suspects have matched those collected from the victim.

The victim had earlier identified three suspects and recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The 164 CrPC statement is considered important for the conviction of suspects.

The arrested accused include Muhammad Zahid, Aqib Muneer, Zohaib, Amir Raza and Abdul Hafeez.

Train staffers gang-rape woman in moving train

Earlier, the police said that railway staffers had gang-raped the woman when she was returning to Karachi from Multan. A case had been lodged at the City Railway police station, whereas, the victim identified two suspects during the identification parade.

The accused also filmed the victim during the heinous crime, the investigation officer (IO) informed the trial court while revealing more findings of the probe during the latest hearing.

It was learnt that a ticket-checker had offered a seat in the air-conditioned compartment of the train to the woman who was travelling alone in economy class and later, he and four other railway staffers gang-raped her.

According to the FIR, the incident occurred on May 27 when the victim, who hails from Karachi’s Orangi Town, boarded the train from Multan railway station for Karachi.

The FIR stated that the woman passenger purchased an economy class ticket for Karachi and when the Bahauddin Zakariya Express reached Rohri Station, two ticket-checkers and their in-charge allegedly lured her into a trap by offering a seat in the AC bogie.

The ticket-checker, Zahid, and their in-charge, identified as Aqib, took the victim to an AC compartment of a bogie where they gang-raped her and fled.