MULTAN, May 17: Police claimed on Monday to have unmasked the alleged culprits involved in the kidnapping and gang-rape of two gypsy singers on Friday last.

According to a handout, the DCO had constituted four raiding teams to arrest the culprits who had been identified. They would be arrested in the next 24 hours.

However, no policeman was found involved in the incident. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, disclosed that some people had been rounded up for their alleged role in the incident, director of a firm among them.

Although two of them had confessed their crime, the police had found some material from the firm that demanded their further interrogation to ascertain whether they were involved in some other heinous crimes as well.

DPO Hamid Mukhtar Gondal is expected to address a press conference today (Tuesday) to apprise the media of the breakthrough. Officials claimed that the two suspects kidnapped 'S' and 'T' from the Masoom Shah Road when they were returning after performing at a wedding ceremony. They took the women to office of the firm near the New Multan police station and gang-raped them.

It may be added that both the victims have been alleging from the very first day that four of the six perpetrators were policemen. They even claimed that police uniforms were hanging on a wall of the room where they were tortured and criminally assaulted.

However, the police authorities claimed that the victims' lawyer, Arshad Gujjar, had enmity with New Multan police station in-charge Saeed Gujjar and, therefore, he had twisted facts of the incident to settle old score. The counsel denied the charge.

Meanwhile, the district and sessions judge had summoned the investigation officer for May 20 along with the case record in order to take a decision on the request made by the DPO to order a judicial inquiry into incident.

On the other hand, the victims' lawyers has also filed two applications with a judge to order a judicial inquiry against the police and make the victims complainant in the case, instead of the New Multan SHO.

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