Pakistan: 155 suspects released in TikToker's sexual assault case
Police has released 155 suspects, arrested for their alleged involvement in the sexual assault of a TikToker girl on Independence Day after the victim and her team could not recognize them during an identification parade, a government official said on Tuesday. The incident took place on August 14 when hundreds of youngsters were celebrating Pakistan's Independence Day at Azadi Chowk near Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media
In viral videos circulated on social media, hundreds of young men can be seen throwing the girl in the air for fun, dragging her, tearing her clothes, and molesting her. The incident sparked nationwide outrage and drew international condemnation.
Here is the disturbing video
Case was registered against 400 unidentified men
Politicians and members of civil society strongly condemned what many of them called "sexual terrorism." Lahore Police had registered a case against 400 unidentified men for assaulting the girl and her companions and later arrested 161 people in the case. "The identification parade of 161 arrested suspects was conducted at Lahore's Camp Jail during last few days under judicial magistrate's supervision," the official said.
FIR was registered under the following sections
The FIR was registered under Pakistan Penal Code Sections 354A (assault or use of criminal force against woman and stripping her clothes), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt, or restraint in order to commit the theft), 147 (rioting), and 149 (unlawful assembly).
Girl and her team could identify only six suspects
"The girl and her team members (could) identify only six suspects after which the police told the magistrate that 155 suspects were no more required in this case and subsequently they were released from jail," the official said. "The six suspects identified by the girl have been sent to judicial custody till September 9," he added.
She was responsible for what happened to her: Suspects
In her complaint, the woman said that people were pushing and pulling her to the extent that they tore her clothes. However, some suspects alleged before the court that the girl herself invited them to the Minar-i-Pakistan to make videos and that she was responsible for what had happened to her. Police had geo-fenced 28,000 people and shortlisted 350 suspects in the case.
All you need to know about Geo-fence
Geo-fence is a virtual geographic boundary, defined by GPS (Global Positioning System) or RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, that enables software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area.
