Yesterday, a disturbing video of some women being stripped naked and beaten by a group of men in Pakistan’s Faisalabad had gone viral on social media.
Acting on the incident, Faisalabad Police has arrested five men for assaulting, stripping and filming four women in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The incident took place in Bawa Chak Market, Faisalabad, Pakistan. A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms, after which the Police took action.
Four out of five accused have been identified as Saddam (owner of Usman Electric Store) and employee of the store, Zaheer Anwar, and Faqeer Hussain (owner of a sanitary products’ shop). Another ten unidentified suspects have also been named in the FIR.
Faisalabad Pakistan: yesterday 3 young women 1 teenage girl were stripped & filmed naked beaten with sticks by 15-20 Muslim men in a Mkt pkace. They were garbage pickers & were thirsty went to a shop asking for water after which were accused of stealing from the shop pic.twitter.com/jiAUecfVZr
— Mahesh Vasu (@maheshmvasu) December 7, 2021
According to the complaint filed at Millat Town Police Station, the complainant is a ragpicker. She went to Bawa Chak Market to collect garbage with three other women on December 6 at around 10:30 AM. She entered Usman Electric Store as she was feeling thirsty. When she asked for a water bottle, Saddam started shouting at her and accused her of entering the shop to steal. The other suspects came to the shop after he started screaming.
As per the complaint, during the arguments, they started beating the four women. The women were stripped and dragged into the market. The complainant said in her statement, “They continued to beat us for around an hour and made our videos in naked condition.” Upon hearing about the case, some family members of the victims rushed to the market and stopped the accused with the help of the passersby, who requested the suspects to let the women go.
The victim asked for strict action against the accused. In a tweet on December 7, Faisalabad Police said, “We police had arrested two accused last night. Further action has been taken, and five accused have been arrested. All other aspects of the incident are also being investigated. IG Punjab is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy on incidents of violence and harassment against women and children.”
فیصل آباد پولیس نے رات 2 ملزمان کو گرفتار کرلیا تھا، مزید کاروائی کرکے پانچوں ملزمان کو گرفتار کر لیا گیا ہے۔اس واقعہ کی دیگر تمام پہلوؤں سے بھی تفتیش کی جا رہی ہے۔
— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) December 7, 2021
آئی جی پنجاب خواتین اور بچوں پر تشدد اور ہراسگی کے واقعات پر زیرو ٹالرنس پالیسی پر عمل پیرا ہیں۔ https://t.co/TnxbsmUBdZ pic.twitter.com/6T08YYvnuL
The accused have been booked under Sections 354(A), 509, 147, and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Shopkeepers alleged women tore clothes themselves
Geo TV quoted Naeem Aziz, Superintendent of Police (SP), saying that the shopkeepers informed the Police that the women stole items from the shop. When they were caught, they tore up their clothes themselves and threatened the shopkeeper. SP Aziz added that some women could be seen tearing their clothes in the CCTV footage. A Twitter user posted CCTV footage of the shop in which the women could be seen stealing things in the shop. One of the women was seen forcefully entering the back side of the shop.
Story Behind #Faisalabad #faisalabadincident pic.twitter.com/AqzHrJukz9
— Khokhar333 (@Akhokhar333) December 7, 2021
In another video, the women could be seen removing/tearing their clothes themselves and intimidating the shopkeeper.
The Women did this to themselves ! #Faisalabad pic.twitter.com/CfQfN7AhBS
— Tanzil Gillani (@TanzilGillani) December 8, 2021
The women’s clothes were further torn when the accused dragged them out of the shop. He said that the Police were reviewing all aspects of the case, and the investigation is underway.
