Pakistan: The women are seen asking the people to release them but to no avail. (File)
Lahore:
A group of men in Pakistan stripped four women, including a teenager, and dragged and beat them after accusing them of “stealing” in the country’s Punjab province. The incident happened in Faisalabad, about 180 kilometers from Lahore, on Monday.
Four women, including a teenager, were seen in a viral video imploring bystanders to let them cover themselves after being stripped of their clothes but were beaten with sticks.
The women were seen crying and asking people to release them but to no avail. They paraded naked on the street for an hour.
Pakistan’s Punjab police stepped in after several videos of the incident went viral on social media.
“We have arrested the 5 main perpetrators in this unfortunate incident,” a Punjab police spokesman said in a tweet on Tuesday.
He said the police are investigating the incident and all those involved in it will be brought to justice.
An FIR has been registered against five suspects and several others in accordance with relevant provisions of law.
According to the content of the case, the victim said that they went to Bawa Chak market in Faisalabad to collect garbage.
“We were thirsty and went inside the Usman electronics store and asked for a bottle of water. But its owner, Saddam, accused us of entering the store with the intent to steal. Saddam and the other men started beating us up. They beat us up. Then they stripped us, dragged us and beat us through the market. They also made our video after stripping us… no one in the crowd tried to stop the prime minister. committed to prevent this atrocity,” according to the complaint.
Faisalabad police chief Dr. Abid Khan said that five main perpetrators, including Saddam, were arrested while raids were underway to capture the fugitives.
