‘Police raided birthday party on private property’

Suspects say SHO slapped prostitution charges on spouses, demanded hefty bribes

ISLAMABAD: A number of young men and women who were arrested by the police during a raid on what police called a ‘vulgar dance party’ last weekend have challenged the shady story painted by the police.

The suspects have now approached the high-ups with their own version of the story, accusing the police of raiding private premises without a warrant and also physically assaulting the women in their custody.

The police termed the event a vulgar gathering where participants indulged in prostitution and distributed incriminating pictures of the young men and women they arrested to media.



Bhara Kahu police raided a farmhouse at around 7:30am on April 28 and rounded up 25 men and 22 women. The suspects were charged with prostitution before a magistrate struck down the allegation and released all on bail the next day.

A number of the people who were arrested by the police on the occasion have submitted applications with inspector general of the capital police and the deputy commissioner, demanding action against Bhara Kahu police officials.

The applicants who spoke with The Express Tribune said they had rented the farmhouse to throw a birthday party for one of their friends where they arranged a DJ to play music and a barbeque. “It was like a family event. I was there with my husband. There were other families too,” said Hajira Ali “I told the police that we were a family and they can check our identity documents but they refused to listen and took all the women to the police station by force,” she added

Participants maintain police had no warrant to enter the farmhouse, which was a private place. They also mentioned that there was no lady constable with the raiding party and male officers pushed, misbehaved and allegedly even physically assaulted women.

Hajira and another woman who has submitted a complaint claim shirts of a few women were also torn when male police officials pushed and forced them to the police station.



Furthermore they also added that officials at the police station also made pictures and videos of the girls without their consent. “What should we do if we are not even allowed to have a birthday party with music at a private residence,” said a participant, wishing anonymity.

Moreover, participants claim that the police demanded that they pay hefty amounts and released those who did. “They forcibly took us all to the police station. There was no lady police official. The first lady constable arrived at the police station at 11am, more than three hours after the raid. One police official named Ahmed asked me to pay Rs50,000 and said he would release me and my husband if I did,” said Hajira.

However, Bhara Kahu SHO Haq Nawaz denied all the allegations, saying the police had obtained the warrants before the raid. He maintained women officials were part of the police team which raided the farmhouse and only policewomen dealt with female suspects. He also refuted the claim that police demanded money to release the suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2018.