According to Faisalabad CPO Dr Mohammad Abid Khan, the police raided places to find and arrest the suspects who were harassing and stripping women naked at Bawa Chak Bazar. They took five men in custody for committing the heinous crime. The FIR against them revealed that the convicts locked the women inside an electric store. They stripped the victims naked and dragged them down the Bawa Chak Market. People made videos that went viral on social media. After which, the authorities took notice of the incident. Other than that, famous Pakistani actress, Ayesha Omer commented about the crime on one of her social media accounts.
Stripping Women Naked to Punish Them for Stealing
Reportedly, four women among which, one was a garbage picker entered Usman electric store located at the Bawa Chak Market to drink water. Sooner, the shopkeeper started yelling at them and accused them of stealing. One thing led to another and the shouting gathered a huge crowd. The neighbouring shop owners frequently entered the crime scene and started beating the victim. They went too far by stripping women naked and then dragged them in the market area before the eyes of hundreds of people. No one came to save the ladies but made videos instead. However, family members of the sufferers arrived and begged the suspects to leave the women alone.
FIR Against the law Breakers
As per the FIR lodged against the criminals at Millat Town Police Station, the cops firstly arrested two of the accused and then took five more in remand to continue the investigation.
The police charged them under sections 354-A (using criminal force, assaulting, and stripping women naked), 509 (humiliating and harassing them sexually), 147 (rioting punishment), and 149 (All members of unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of common object).
Moreover, one of the women, the garbage picker narrated the entire incident to the police. She explained that Sadam, the alleged owner of the Usman electric store accused them of shoplifting created a scene that attracted other men as they came inside the shop. After that, his employee Faisal, Zaheer Anwar, and the owner of a sanitary products’ shop, Faqeer Hussain collectively tortured them all.
According to the family members of the victims, men stripping women naked and brutally bullying them like that is an unforgettable and unforgivable thing. Therefore, the law needs to punish them severely.
What the Hell is going on In Pakistan?
The video after going viral on social media caused collective outrage. Apart from citizens, several celebrities like Ayesha Umer raised their voice on such inhumane treatment at the hand of the mob even if the victims were accused of a crime. She wrote, “what the hell is going on in this country”. She was surprised to see the extremely violent side of some brainless monsters who supposedly enjoyed stripping women naked and made an example out of them. She also mentioned the recent Sialkot incident that caused a debate on Blasphemy response in Pakistan. People burned a Sri Lankan man alive for allegedly committing blasphemy.
CCTV Footage Contradicts with the Victims’ Story
According to the CCTV video, women went inside the store and did try to steal things but one of the men quickly came out of the shop and tried to lock the door from the outside. Also, the women can be seen ripping off their clothes and merging into the crowd.
The spectators are wondering about who is at fault in the entire matter. Social media is beginning to flood with questions and mixed reactions about women and what actually happened with them. Some said that some people tend to become the victims and make others the criminals in order to hide their crimes. Whereas several mentioned that the shopkeepers shouldn’t have beat them but handed them over to the police instead.
