Three held over torture, humiliation of man

Assailants allegedly filmed the act and uploaded footage to social media

OKARA:

A man was stripped naked and beaten up with sticks and shoes in the Haveli Lakha area on Saturday. The suspects also filmed the act and posted the video on social media.

Taking strict notice of the incident after the video went viral, the police have arrested three suspects on the orders of Okara DPO Faisal Gulzar.

Shahid, a barber by profession, was reportedly brutally tortured by local influential people including Sher Ali, Muhammad Ali and Mohammad Yar. The suspects stripped Shahid naked and beat him with sticks and shoes while filming the heinous act. After the video went viral, DPO Gulzar ordered Depalpur ASP Owais Khan to take action against the accused. Malik Shahbaz, SHO of Haveli Lakha Police Station, conducted a raid and arrested the three suspects.

As per SHO Malik Shahbaz, the victim is still missing and, a case will be registered on his complaint as soon as he is found. An investigation will be carried out. The suspects during initial interrogation alleged that Shahid used to tease a woman and had repeatedly ignored their warnings to desist; after which they tortured him to teach him a lesson.

DPO Gulzar maintained that the suspects wrongly took the law into their own hands by torturing Shahid, for which they deserved punishment. If the accused had any complaint against the victim, they should have approached the authorities instead of pursuing vigilantism in such a manner.

Their act is a violation of human rights and the law, the DPO said, adding that they would be punished accordingly.

Incidents involving torture and humiliation are not uncommon in the province, with Express Tribune having covered an incident that occurred on Friday. In Satiana, a woman and her daughter were forcibly stripped and marched naked through a nearby bazaar after the accused illegally occupied their house. They were also allegedly beaten.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2022.