Students held for stripping classmate
People carry signs against the killing of Noor Mukadam, 27, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat, and to condemn the violence against women and girls during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan July 25, 2021. REUTERS
Two students of the University of Punjab have been booked for allegedly stripping a classmate of theirs, attempting to sexually assault her and filming her predicament on a video.
“The suspects identified as Awais and Andleeb abducted my sister from Campus Bridge near the university,” said the brother of the victim who is also the complainant in the case.
“At gunpoint, they shifted her to an unidentified location against her will where they attempted to sexually assault her and also made a video,” said the complainant.
The complainant said that the incident occurred a month ago, but his sister did not tell anyone about it to protect her honour.
However, the suspects continued to harass her on the basis of the video and threatened her that if she did not develop intimate relations with them they would upload the video online.
“Frustrated and unable to sustain the pressure, she shared the ordeal with the family,” he added.
On his complaint, the Muslim Town police registered a case against the suspects under Sections 511 (attempt to sexual assault), 376 (rape), 365 (abduction) and other offences as mentioned in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
After registration of the case, DIG Abid Khan formed the raiding teams that arrested the suspects.
They have been handed over to the officials concerned for investigations, Khan said.
“Ensuring safety of women is our (Lahore Police’s) prime responsibility,” DIG Khan said.
In another horrific incident of gender-based violence in the provincial capital, two women were sexually harassed and tortured by the suspects who also attempted to kidnap them at the Firdous Market.
Read Student rape at IIUI exposes loopholes
The victims had been visiting the market when the suspects, Malik Hamza, Rehan Mansha, Waris Noor and an alleged accomplice of theirs whose identity could not be known began harassing them sexually.
“When they told them to keep to their limits, they got infuriated. One suspect pulled a hockey stick from his car and started hitting them,” Bilal Sarfaraz, fiancé of one of the victims and the complainant in the case, said.
The suspects also tried to abduct them, said the complainant.
Some people in the market came to the rescue of the women.
However, the suspects returned after a while to torture the victims again, he added.
Naseerabad SHO Shoaib Khan said police had registered an FIR and arrested two suspects.
Raids were being conducted to arrest the rest of the suspects, he added. Model Town SP Saad Aziz said that the incidents of violence against women at public places were intolerable.
Gender based violence is a serious issue in our society. Every other day an incident of this nature is reported.
In Punjab 212 cases of gang-rape were registered in the first 10 months of 2021. This is a horrific figure. The frequency of sexual violence against women could be gauged from the fact that 3,675 cases of rape were registered in the first 10 months of the ongoing year.
The suspects in 2156 cases have been indicted. In 2020, as many as 4,732 cases of violence against women were reported.
The Fourth Punjab Gender Parity Report (2019-20) which has been launched recently by the Punjab Commission on Status of Women noted a 15 percent rise in incidents of gang-rape in Punjab in 2020.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2021.