ISLAMABAD: A man has been arrested from Bahria Town Phase IV on charges of abducting and raping a 25-year-old woman.

Sources in the police department told Dawn Lohi Bher police picked up the man, who lived in a two-storey house along with his widowed mother, brother, three sisters and his own daughter.

The woman, on whose complaint police made the arrest, is originally from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. She told police she had been living in a girls’ hostel in Rawalpindi for nearly two years and worked in the marketing department of an Islamabad-based company.

She told police the man was an engineer with a well-known construction company, and met her at a local Shisha Bar a few months ago. There, he told her he would find her a better job with his company and subsequently kept in touch with her.

Around two weeks ago, according to the woman, he called her to his house under the pretense of a job offer and locked her up in a room in the basement of his family home. She alleges that he raped her for over two weeks.

Eventually, she managed to escape when her captor was not present and went to the police to lodge a first information report (FIR).

Mohammad Ishaq, the investigation officer (IO) supervising the case, told Dawn the suspect had admitted that the woman had been “staying with him”.

Sources said the suspect’s father had passed away some time ago and he lived in the basement of the house, which had a separate entrance. The suspect’s wife is said to have died during childbirth.

IO Ishaq told Dawn the family claimed they did not know about the woman’s presence in the house because the basement is totally separate from the rest of the house and the only way in is through the back.

He said the woman had been shifted to the Rawalpindi Darul Aman and a detailed statement would be recorded soon.

“We’ve informed the woman’s family in Azad Kashmir and police are continuing their investigation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 21st , 2014