Margalla Hills rape case: Police says incident at ‘Trail 3’ was false

Islamabad Capital Police said the alleged rape of a girl at the hiking trail in Margalla Hills was false and staged to seek revenge and extort money after a dispute.

Police conducted an investigation of the incident reported on Trail 3 hiking track in the federal capital. The case made headlines and was seen as an example of the lack of women’s safety in public places.

A spokesperson for the Islamabad police said the incident was fake and stemmed from a personal dispute between the main accused and his companion.

The accused Nauman had a quarrel with his partner Anwar, who hired a gang to take revenge. The group included Saima, Dr Sidra Ismail, fake journalist Shakeel, and fake police officer named Manzoor.

According to police, Anwar contacted a girl named Saima, a resident of Rawalpindi, to falsely accuse Nauman of rape. Saima got in touch with Sidra, a resident of Sheikhupura, and plotted to stage a rape scene against Nauman.

They decided that Sidra would take the accused to Trail 3 and pretend that she was being sexually assaulted and started screaming. The rest of the group was supposed to reach the spot and record videos. They would blackmail the accused and his family extorted money from them.

On the day of the incident, Sidra reached Trail 3 with accused Nauman but the rest of the group did not arrive. Sidra waited for a long time and eventually went to Rawalpindi. She lodged an FIR in the police station and went back to Sheikhupura.

The police said the case was investigated from every angle. The police took the girl to the police station and she told all the facts and the plan before the magistrate.

Police said the group blackmails and extorts money from people. Police added that two cases are registered against Sidra in Sheikhupura and Muridke.

Police said gang operative Anwar Haq has a previous criminal record. The case was heavily campaigned on social media while the case was under investigation.

Police requested citizens not to believe rumors till the final police report. They said such a campaign could have influenced police investigation and benefited the criminals.