From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to reprimand five police officials for failing to respond in time to the public assault of a woman at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan on Independence Day.
Chief Minister Usman Buzdar presided over a meeting Friday to review the progress made in the investigation so far. Punjab IG Inam Ghani presented a report, in which the role of police officials was also discussed.
The CM instructed the IG to suspend the concerned police officers. Lahore DIG Operations Sajid Kayani, SSP Operations Syed Nadeem Abbas and Additional SP Operations Hassan Jahangir were removed from their posts, while DSP Badami Bagh Usman Haider and SHO Lorry Adda Mohammad Jamil were suspended.
The provincial government also suspended the projector director and deputy director of the Greater Iqbal Park.CM Buzdar said the culprits will be handed severe punishments and the victim will be provided justice. He said that police response was delayed. “The people have high expectations from the police and the police have to carry out their duties according to the aspirations of the people,” he said.
Buzdar expressed grave concern over the public assault of the woman and some other recent incidents in Lahore. “Angry” over police performance, the chief minister said the police’s response to the woman’s assault and other incidents has been slow.
Following a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other senior officials, the provincial police chief said senior police officers had been suspended for negligence and delayed response in dealing with the incident.
“We have suspended SHO and SDPO whereas Divisional SP, SSP Operations and DIG Operations Lahore have been removed from their posts,” Inspector General Inam Ghani wrote on Twitter. Ghani said “strict departmental action will be taken once inquiry committee submits its detailed report on the role and response of other officers.”
The Minar-e-Pakistan assault came to light after a video went viral on social media, showing hundreds of men attacking a woman as she went to the park with four of her friends to celebrate Independence Day. The police had registered a case against 400 men for assaulting the woman. The Punjab police have taken 24 people into custody on suspicion of assaulting and groping the female Tiktoker. The suspects have been handed over to the CIA for further interrogation. They were detained from the nearby areas of the Greater Iqbal Park.
The authorities have shared the suspects’ details with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and are waiting for an identification report to proceed further.
The suspects were taken into custody after police obtained videos that went viral on social media of the horrific assault of the woman, who was making videos for her TikTok account at the national monument, on the occasion of Independence Day.
After NADRA sends its report, police will seek the victim’s help to identify the suspects.
The Punjab government released Friday the medical examination report of the victim, which confirmed details of the injuries she sustained after being assaulted. Signs of inflammation were found on the woman’s body, the report said, adding that her neck, right hand and ears were swollen.
There are three scratches on the right side of her chest and scratches on her left arm, back and both legs. There are also several bruises on her body, the report said.
The episode triggered anger and widespread criticism of the prevalent misogyny in Pakistan after the video clip, showing hordes of men of all ages climbing a fence and attacking the woman, went viral on social media.
The victim told police that men groped her, tore off her clothes, beat her, and tossed her in the air. In addition, they robbed her of Rs15,000, snatched her mobile phone, and took off her gold ring and studs.
Out of hundreds of men, many of who just stood there and even made a video, only one person came to the woman’s rescue and helped her get out of the park. A case was filed against 400 people on the victim’s complaint.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said on Friday that 24 men had been taken into custody through geo-fencing and matching record from National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for harassing and assaulting a female TikToker and her companions at Lahore’s Greater Iqbal Park on Independence Day.
The incident had drawn police attention after videos of the episode went viral and sparked outrage on social media.
In a post on Twitter, the minister said “more arrests are expected today” in connection with the “condemnable” incident. She said a police inquiry was also underway against alleged negligence of police officers in the assault case.
