Four people were arrested in Punjab's Hafizabad area on Monday for allegedly extracting blood samples from unsuspecting women under false pretences, DawnNews reported.

Hafizabad Sub-Inspector (SI) Hafiz Ahmed told DawnNews that the four suspects, including one woman, would trick women of Gujranwala's Mohalla Sharif Pura into providing blood samples from their tailbones by telling them they would help them acquire financial assistance through the prime minister's dowry fund.

The suspects, identified as Nadeem, Muhammad Aslam, his wife Amna Bibi, and Irfan, would allegedly sell the extracted samples to an employee of District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital's Kidney Ward, SI Ahmed said, adding that they were to be paid Rs40,000 in return.

The liquid extracted from the women has been sent to Pakistan Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) to determine whether its bone marrow or something else, the official said.

Nadeem, the prime suspect, would allegedly misrepresent himself as a DHQ Hospital employee and trick the women into giving their blood, the SI said.

Nadeem confessed that samples were taken from over 15 women, he added.

Pictures of women, identity cards, injections, and medicines were recovered from the possession of the suspects.

The suspects were booked under Sections 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 170 (personating a public servant), and 171 (wearing garb or carrying a token used by a public servant with fraudulent intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code.