Sexual harassment: Cops beat up Auqaf man for trying to defend devotees
According to eyewitnesses, the police officials beat up Auqaf Department sweeper Muhammad Azhar and locked him up after he tried to stop them from harassing a group of women outside the Bahauddin Zakariya darbar doors. “I saw the police manhandle the women as they were trying to enter the darbar.
They were calling them names and one of the cops even grabbed a woman and slapped her after she tried to call for help,” an eyewitness, Salman told reporters. “When Azhar went to stop them, they beat him with sticks and then took him in custody,” he added.
The accused police officials included Muhammad Amjad and several others. Salman said that Azhar was taken to the Lohari Gate Police station where he was severely beaten for several hours. Auqaf Department officials protested against the police torture and protested outside the Lohari Gate police station for Azhar’s release.
The department officials said that their protests would continue and that several eyewitnesses had seen over four police officials misbehaving with the women . “This is a shrine and yet they were harassing devotees,” Musarrat said.
Police officials refused to bring Azhar before the media and denied any knowledge of the incident. “We will not stand for this brutality. The women the cops abused have come forward and they will file a case. We will protest outside the DPOs office if Azhar is not released,” said Auqaf Department official Raza Hadi.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2011.
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@obaid: Pakistan: is a police state, a military state, a Butto state, is a corrupt state that I have stopped visiting my, once upon a time, a beautiful STATE. Darbars will not save Pakistan from brutality of the police. Politicians and the army take advantage of the ignorance of the people who believe attending Darbars will solve their problems.
police state
I remember Tehmina Doltana proclaiming on a recent TV talk show that Mr. Shehbaz Sharif has given the province the precious gift of law and order. Maybe this is what she meant when speaking of law and order.
There will be at least two protests against police brutality on Saturday, one in Lahore and one in Islamabad. Go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138747912879519 for more details.