Minar-e-Pakistan incident: 15 suspects identified, 100 detained for harassing woman
By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023
The Lahore police have identified and arrested 15 men for harassing and assaulting a woman at Minar-e-Pakistan. They are being questioned by the Crime Investigation Agency.
According to the investigation officer, accomplices of the suspects fled to Kohat after the attack. They are being traced.
As many as 100 suspects have been detained in crackdowns in areas of Ravi Road, Badami Bagh, Lari Adda, and Shafiqabad. The police have approached NADRA for the men’s details.
An FIR was registered against 400 men at the Lara Adda Police Station in Lahore for harassing and looting a woman at Minar-e-Pakistan in what has emerged to be one of the more disturbing examples of violence against women and that too on August 14.
The medical reports of the woman, issued on Friday, revealed she sustained more than 13 injuries on her hands, chest, and neck.
On Thursday, 20 suspects were released after the initial investigation, however, they have been told not to leave the area.
The police will check the mobile phone locations of all the suspects to determine if they were at the Greater Iqbal Park at the time of the incident. Their faces will be matched with the faces that are visible in different videos of the incident.
The CCTV footage shows that not a single police officer was present at the time of the incident. An inquiry committee is working to determine police negligence.
Punjab Minister for Prison Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan has said action against the perpetrators will be taken under Section 354A (assault or use of criminal force to woman and stripping her of her clothes.–Whoever assaults or uses criminal force on any woman and strips her of her clothes and, in that condition, exposes her to the public view) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
“Under the law, culprits are sentenced to life imprisonment and even death,” he added.
Minar-e-Pakistan incident
The victim said that she was at the Minar-e-Pakistan with her friends to make a video for her YouTube channel when suddenly more than 300 to 400 men attacked them. The victim said when she and her friends tried to get away from the crowd, the guards at the Minar opened the gate of the fence and they went inside.
The men jumped over the fence and surged towards us and started pulling me, the woman said. She said that they clawed and tore her clothes. She said that some men tried to help her but the crowd was so overwhelmingly large that they couldn’t do anything.
She said that the mob of men also assaulted her partner Amir Sohail’s friend and snatched his cellphone and Rs15,000. They even forcefully took off my gold ring and gold earrings, she said.
Videos of the incident surfaced later as many people present had cell phones and started recording the commotion. They show the woman walking with a crowd behind her before the men surround her. People can be seen raising their mobile phones to take videos and pictures of her and start pushing her around. As the scores of men surround her, the woman starts screaming frantically. As the video goes on, a man is heard saying “Azaan ho rahi hai.” The call to prayer had started to fill the air.
Another video shows men throwing the woman in the air.
The FIR was registered after the horrific footage of the woman being pushed, groped, and thrown in the air went viral on social media.
Punjab IG seeks help from NADRA
Punjab IG Inam Ghani has said that photos of the men have been sent to NADRA for identification. “The case is being investigated as a priority.”
In a telephone call with Nadra’s chairperson, IG Ghani asked for data such as addresses and phone numbers of the men. “Once we get all the information, we will be able to arrest the culprits,” he said.
The Lahore police has issued an appeal to the public to help identify and arrest the suspects involved in the incident.
