An Elite Force constable was tortured by three men, including her husband, allegedly over resentment over lawsuits and barring him from drinking.
The complainant also accused the men of trying to burn her children alive.
Constable Fauzia Tabassum has been performing duties in the police for 17 years.
She filed a complaint to local police, stating that she was married to Shaukat Hayat and had been living near Chak-9 Bypass at Randhawa Chowk.
She had filed a case for divorce due to daily quarrels with her husband. Additionally, Tabassum stated that Hayat wanted to take over their house.
She said she returned home on April 4 at 5pm after finishing her duty and found her husband drinking in the sitting room with his four unknown companions. When she forbade him from drinking, he assaulted her, she sated.
Allegedly, Hayat dragged her into the street by her hair and he and his accomplices allegedly punched and kicked her.
The complainant said the attackers also poured petrol on her children, threatening to burn them alive. Hearing the noise, Tabassum’s brother Faisal Naseem and uncle Ashraf reached the spot and saved her. The suspects fled the scene, threatening to kill Tabassum.
The policewoman lodged the case under Sections 354/34, 33F1 and 337L2 of the Pakistan Penal Code and the police started a search for the suspects.
The public torture and humiliation of citizens is a commonplace occurrence in Punjab province, with suspects allegedly torturing both men and women. In Gujranwala in February 2022, three suspects were arrested for allegedly tying up and beating a 45-year-old man in a market with sticks.
None of the bystanders did anything to aid the victim, and the accused were arrested only after videos of the incident went viral on social media.
Similarly, there were two incidents in March 2022 where victims were publicly beaten. In Okara on March 26th, three accused allegedly stripped a man naked and beat him with sticks. The incident was recorded on video by the suspects and uploaded to social media. The suspects were arrested once the video went viral.
A day before the aforementioned incident, two women were stripped naked and marched out of their house by suspects in Kharrianwala on March 25th. According to details, the two victims were involved in a property dispute with the two accused, who wanted ownership of their house. Upon refusal, the accused allegedly stripped the women naked and paraded them through the market, beating them and then forcibly occupying their house. According to the victims, authorities did not act on the matter for ten days.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2022.
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