On August 17, Lahore Police has registered a case against hundreds of unidentified men for assaulting a female TikTok star and her associates on August 14, at Iqbal Park, Lahore. As per a report published in Pakistani Daily Dawn, the case has been registered against unidentified persons for assaulting and stealing from the woman and her associates.
This video is from the night, @DIGOpsLahore can you please share the details of what actually happened there? pic.twitter.com/4jGfnl0dQi
— Kiran Butt (@qiranbutt) August 17, 2021
An FIR has been registered based on the complaint of the victim under Sections 354A (assault or use of criminal force against woman and stripping her of her clothes), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint to commit the theft), 147 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The woman had reportedly gone with 6 of her associates to shoot a video at Minar-e-Pakistan on the occasion of Pakistani Independence Day on August 14 when the mob attack happened.
Netizens’ sharp reaction to the assault video
A video of the mob groping and pushing the woman went viral on social media platforms that attracted sharp criticism from the netizens. The video was shared by Kiran Butt, Correspondent Anadolu Agency who said that a case had been registered and Police is trying to identify the culprits. She further requested the public, if they have any information about the incident, should share it with the Police.
This boils my blood! The land of the pure? We need to start acting like it; and not just spewing these meaningless statements. May God curse every man who thought this was okay to do. https://t.co/oZXDZy5DqU
— billie bop (@popsicklee1) August 18, 2021
Graphic visuals from the incident showed that a large mob of men repeatedly groped, grabbed and pushed the woman.
a normal day in pakistan for a girl … what we can say to these peoples ? . even animals respect their woman too. o sorry i forgot that this happened in Pakistan. https://t.co/iJzWIJq4gT
— samael🌟 (@iamHChaudhary) August 18, 2021
Unbelievable, the assault appears to have lasted atleast for couple of hours. I have no doubt that the week prosecutors will let the culprits off the hook again. PPC has death penalty for such crimes.
— JawadBhati✒ (@j_bhattii) August 18, 2021
‘People were pushing and pulling me, tore my clothes’
In her complaint to the Police, the woman stated that she and her six associates were filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan on Pakistan’s Independence Day. Around 300-400 people attacked them. She further added that her group tried to escape, but the crowd did not give any space to them. The park’s security guards saw what was happening and opened the gates to the enclosure around Minar-e-Pakistan.
She added, “However, the crowd was huge, and people were scaling the enclosure and coming towards us. People were pushing and pulling me to the extent that they tore my clothes. Several people tried to help me, but the crowd was too huge, and they kept throwing me in the air.”
The victim said that her ring, earrings, the mobile phone of an associate, identity card and PKR 15,000 cash were forcibly taken from them during the assault.
Sajid Kiyani, DIG Operations, Lahore, ordered the Superintendent of Police to take immediate legal action against the suspect. The Police are checking CCTV footage to identify the suspects. In a statement, Kiyani said, “Those who violated women’s honour and harassed them will be brought within the ambit of the law.”
Pakistanis justify assault, “because she was wearing tight clothes”
The incident has triggered widespread criticism on social media. However, many Pakistani men were seen justifying the assault with several excuses.
Many people from Pakistan were seen claiming that the horrific sexual assault and gropings were justified because “she was wearing tight clothes” and was “na-mehram”, meaning she was not accompanied by a male guardian while being outdoors, as mandated in Islamic law. Some stated that the woman deserved to be groped like that because she was dancing near Minar-e-Pakistan in a ‘vulgar’ way.
