Tag: lahore police

  • Exclusive info: how is the police investigating the viral beating case?

    Exclusive info: how is the police investigating the viral beating case?

    Following the CCTV footage of three girls beating up a salesman in a shop in Lahore and the widespread criticism over the police’s handling of the alleged harassment case, local police are now actively finding out what happened.

    In the viral video, the girls appear to have initiated the assault, with the boy at the receiving end of their blows. However, it was reported that the salesman was arrested on allegations of harassment posed by the girls. This instigated a debate on social media where netizens demanded the arrest of the girls for allegedly using the “woman card.”

    THE POLICE VERSION

    DIG Lahore Operations Faisal Kamran, while talking to Dawn, said the CCTV footage was presented in court by the boys in their defence, led to the case being dismissed.

    The DIG also stated that the police approached the young man to file a complaint against the girls, if they wish to proceed with legal action.

    The Current talked to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Dr. Ayaz, who stated that women’s harassment laws require an immediate response from the police. He said the police responded to the complaint filed by the girls, took the boys to the police station, and booked them instantly. “It was the honourable court’s decision to decide the case,” he stressed. “The police is committed to performing their duties, and as per law, we have a time of 14 days according to which we are conducting our investigation,” he added.

    SP Ayaz confirmed that the medical checkup of both the girl and boy has been done, and all aspects of the case are being investigated, including the harassment and assault allegations. This particular case is registered under Article 509-1 and will proceed under charges of ‘insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment’, Ayaz informed.

    Addressing social media speculation about the girl being the daughter of a lawyer, DIG Kamran clarified that the girl’s mother informed the police that her husband had passed away.

    THE GIRLS

    One of the three girls, on condition of anonymity, talked to The Current and explained how she, along with her friends, went to the shop to have coffee and do some shopping. According to her, she was chitchatting with her friends when the salesman started passing lewd comments about them, asking the girls if they were on “night duty,” implying that they were prostitutes. The comments enraged her friend who told him to behave and as the situation escalated, they first got into a verbal brawl with two boys which eventually took the form of a physical fight. She claimed that they hurled curses at them and pulled the hair of the boy. He also struck a girl, causing her nose to bleed and tore her shirt.

    She said that they stayed there until they called the police and got the FIR registered, an official copy of which is present with The Current. The man who made their video was asked not to do so because of their vulnerable condition, but he did not comply.

    A digital copy of FIR shared by the girl.

    The girl said that at the police station, the boy apologised, and a “raazi nama” was signed. She stressed that in police custody, the shopkeeper said that the CCTV footage was not available as it was deleted. However, it surfaced on social media, two days after the incident, in what she described as an effort to defame them. In a traumatised tone, she said that they are under extreme pressure and because of her public profile on Instagram, she has gotten rape and death threats after the video went viral.

    The screenshots shared by the girl depict the threatening and abusive language used by men sliding into her DMs.

    More than once, she said that the viral video does not present the whole version and lacks the actual audio. She stressed that if the audio was released, it would support her version of the story. “I don’t understand, how can people think that it could have happened without a reason. We are not mad that we just got up and started beating someone. There was a reason, and in all honesty, we are not ashamed of it,” she shared.

    She made it a point to mention that she does not belong to an elite background but from an upper-middle-class household, and the criticism that the girls weren’t ‘dressed properly’ is sexist and violates their right to freedom of choice.

    THE GUY’S VERSION

    The viral footage showed only one boy being assaulted by the girls in the presence of the shop owner and other visitors who eventually intervened. Yasir Shami from Urdu Point was seen talking to the boy, Yousuf, who was beaten up by the girl. Yousuf vehemently denied any allegations of harassment. “I was laughing at something my colleague said, and the ladies misheard and started coming inside the counter area. I told them they couldn’t do that but she still made her way inside and started beating me,” he said. “I did defend myself as much as I could, but not much as she was a woman,” he claimed. He also denied any claim of cursing the girls.

    REPORTED NEWS

    Journalist Ahmed Faraz, while talking on the show Geo Pakistan, explained that only one FIR is registered in any case, and all elements are explored and investigated under that.

  • Shah Mahmood Qureshi implicated in eight more cases related to May 9

    Shah Mahmood Qureshi implicated in eight more cases related to May 9

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was implicated in eight more cases related to the May 9 riots on Sunday.

    Qureshi is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail on multiple charges while also serving a 10-year sentence under the Official Secrets Act by a special court.

    May 9 riots took place when PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC). Scores of PTI workers and senior leaders were imprisoned for involvement in violence and attacks on military installations in 2023.

    Meher Bano Qureshi, a PTI leader and the daughter of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, took to X to condemn the action taken by Lahore Police saying, “After 281 days in jail l, as a consequence of a sham trial, Lahore Police has arrested Shah Mahmood Qureshi in 8 cases related to 9th May incidents in Lahore. The arrest comes after he was interrogated by Lahore police yesterday. Incidentally, it’s a well-established and documented fact that my father was in Karachi on the 9th.”

  • Marriage and employment scam: 500 girls from Lahore sold in Sindh after kidnapping

    Marriage and employment scam: 500 girls from Lahore sold in Sindh after kidnapping

    The recovery of a 15-year-old Sheikhupura girl from Sindh has unearthed a gang that has sold 500 young women by scamming and kidnapping them. Seven arrests have been made so far from Lahore and Jacobabad.

    As per the police report, an abduction case was registered with the Factory Area Police Station in Sheikhupura on June 2 following the disappearance of a teenage girl. An investigation was initiated upon their failure to recover the girl, reported Dunya News on December 12.

    Urdu News has reported the incident in greater detail, including listing the motives of the girl who eloped, and how she got recovered.

    Alisha reached Lahore on the morning of June 2. She got out of the car near a petrol pump near Data Darbar in Lahore. She didn’t have her phone with her which she deliberately left at home, as she looked for someone in the crowd. Alisha got in touch with a man named Nadeem through Facebook. After being in contact online for a long time, she fell in love with him.

    Nadeem promised Alisha that if she came to Lahore, they will marry each other.

    On the morning of June 2, when her mother went to work, Alisha ran away from home to find her unknown love.

    When Alisha did not find Nadeem in Lahore, she broke down. She reached the Data Darbar premises exhausted and sat in the courtyard. A woman came to her and comforted her and said that she would get her a job in a good place or get her married somewhere. Alisha had no choice but to believe this unknown woman and thus they became friends.

    On the other hand, Alisha’s mother registered an FIR of her abduction in Sheikhupura Police Station Factory Area.

    Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson Wajid Abbas told Urdu News that Alisha’s mother received a phone call telling her that her daughter was in Sindh and she had to pay a ransom of Rs 25 lakh to get her daughter back. Alisha’s mother filed a case of kidnapping on June 6.

    Meanwhile, two local politicians in the area advised the woman to file a writ in the High Court, that her daughter was missing.

    Wajid Abbas said that the court reprimanded the SHO of the local police station and said that if the girl is not recovered, he will be suspended.

    He said that DPO Sheikhpura Zahid Marwat took a personal interest in the case and tried his best to solve the case. The police also found a trace of a gang.

    Sheikhupura police reached Lahore in search of Alisha and started searching for her with the help of Safe City Authority cameras, when the police saw some people talking to Alisha in the Data Darbar area.

    According to the police, after making inquiries about the wanted persons, they arrested one. When the police interrogated the man, he confessed to his gang kidnapping the girls.

    On investigation, the police found that the main character of this gang is a woman named Latifan Bibi living in Karachi, while her husband Khan Muhammad is also involved in criminal activities.

    The suspect told the police about the modus operandi of his gang. Latifan Bibi is in touch with six people from Karachi to Lahore. Three women and three men operate in Lahore, these six people approach different girls and convince them that they will get them married or get them a good job.

    They then transfer all of them from Lahore to the rural areas of Sindh.

    The spokesperson of Sheikhupura Police said, “When Alisha was seduced by an unknown woman in the Data Darbar area of Lahore, she informed Latifan Bibi in Karachi about it, after which the unknown woman sold Alisha to Latifan Bibi for 20,000. This group commits crimes systematically, two people from Lahore went to leave Alisha to Karachi.”

    He said that Latifan Bibi gave these people 20,000 rupees for traveling expenses. The police soon came to know that these two men also raped fifteen-year-old Alisha on the way.

    According to him, as long as Alisha stayed with Latifan, her husband Khan Muhammad also kept raping her. Then Latifan Bibi sold Alisha in the city of Qamber in Sindh for two lakh rupees, after which she was sold eight times in Sindh.

    The police traced Alisha and had information about the alleged gang, but the police now had the task of catching the entire gang. The police prepared a plan to nab the accused.

    According to the Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson, “We prepared one of our lady constables and told the arrested accused to call Latifan Bibi and tell her that they are bringing another girl to Sindh.” Latifan Bibi did not know anything about this.

    “When our officials reached the Kacha area of Sindh with the accused and the lady constable, Latifan Bibi and later her husband were also arrested from there.”

    Latifan Bibi and other suspects revealed disturbing details during the investigation.

    Latifan Bibi told the police “So far they have abducted around 500 girls from Lahore and sold them in the Kacha area of Sindh and got a huge price for them.”

    “Girls who come to courts or run away from home, we would trap them and kidnap them.”

    According to the Sheikhupura police, this gang has remained safe from being caught by the police until now because whenever the police went to catch them or found a trace of a missing girl, Latifan Bibi would arrange the marriages of these girls, after which these girls would be found by the police. She used to state that she was married, due to which the police action could not be successful.

    When the Sheikhupura police recovered Alisha on the identification of the arrested accused, there were many revelations.

    According to Sheikhupura police, Latifan Bibi revealed that she sold Alisha at nine different places, but finally, police found Alisha from an area called Mehr on the border of Sindh and Balochistan and brought her to Punjab. She is now in police custody.

    Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson Wajid Abbas further said that the police have detained eight accused in this case, including four men and their wives. Alisha and her mother also tried to change their statement, but now we have kept Alisha in safe custody so that this gang can be severely punished.

    The police led by DPO Zahid Marwat produced Alisha in the court and informed her about the entire incident.

    The court, while dealing with Alisha’s recovery request, issued an order that, “This matter should be investigated more deeply and all possible measures should be taken for the recovery of the kidnapped girls.”

  • 100 million to be spent on upgradation of 84 police stations in Lahore

    100 million to be spent on upgradation of 84 police stations in Lahore

    Lahore police has released a huge sum of Rs 100 million out of a total of 190 million allocated for the establishment of the Special Initiative Police Stations(SIPs) in the Lahore region.

    To eradicate ‘thana culture’, the department has planned to introduce modern technology and smart idea-based model police stations to provide citizens quick relief and increase trust levels between the public and the police.

    The Police department has announced establishing division-wise committees under the supervision of the respective SPs of the operations wing, making the sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs), station house officers (SHOs), and the muharrars their respective members. This will ensure transparency in the utilisation of the funds released by the Punjab government for the upgrade of all 84 Lahore police stations.

    The project, the brainchild of Punjab Police IG Dr Usman Anwar, will involve converting all 735 police stations of the province, including 84 in Lahore, into the Special Initiative Police Stations. Caretaker setup in Punjab allocated Rs1.9 billion, including Rs190 million (19 crore) for Lahore SIPs. Out of the total allocated amount, Rs60 million (6 crore) will go to the taxes while the rest amount of Rs30 million (3 crore) will also be released in the weeks to come.

    According to the scheme, Two LCDs each will be installed in the lobby (the space for the citizens) and in the offices of the SHOs. the cameras will be installed outside the bars to monitor the activities of the suspects, in the office of the SHOs, and at the front desks of the police stations.
    Each police station will house a control room and Qmatic system to facilitate the citizens.

    Out of the total of 84 police stations, the buildings of the three police stations — Mozang, Hanjarwal and the Civil Lines — have been completed and inaugurated.

    The 70 percent of the total civil work of the rest of the buildings of the police stations is near completion, the official said.

    Talking to Dawn, Lahore Operations DIG Ali Nasir Rizvi suggested that the Lahore police department would submit a request to the Punjab government through the IG office to provide Rs70 million additional amount to meet expenses.

  • More PTI arrests from Mansehra

    More PTI arrests from Mansehra

    A joint team of law enforcement agencies and Islamabad police apprehended former Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Ali Nawaz Awan and Malik Aamir Dogar, along with their two hosts in the Battal area, Mansehra on Thursday.

    Both former MNAs are from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    The arrests took place during a raid on the residence of Hizbullah, chairman of the Battal neighborhood council and a prominent PTI leader.

    The whereabouts of the detainees, including Hizbullah and his cousin Zaheer Khan, remain unknown, with local police maintaining silence on the matter.

    Awan, who serves as the PTI’s central additional secretary-general, represented Islamabad as an MNA, while Dogar hails from Multan city.

    Both had gone into hiding as law enforcement agencies intensified their crackdown on PTI leaders and activists following the May 9 attacks on military and government installations across the country.

    Expressing strong reservations, PTI has declared the arrests illegal. Ajmal Khan Swati, former PTI information secretary in Hazara division, urged an immediate end to what he termed an “illegal” crackdown on their party.

    “These arrests should stop immediately,” he said.

    The PTI leader said his party wanted a level-playing field to participate in general elections just like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, JUI-F and others in the country.

    He complained that the police didn’t allow the PTI to hold a workers’ convention in the locality and ransacked the venue despite court orders telling the government to allow PTI to carry out political activities, including canvassing.

    “Police committed contempt of court by blocking our workers’ convention despite the Peshawar High Court’s permission,” he said.

    Crackdown in Lahore Raises Concerns

    Simultaneously, the Lahore police initiated a fresh crackdown on PTI workers and activists, resulting in multiple arrests over the last three days.

    Acting on a new list of 884 PTI workers, labeled as ‘new targets,’ the investigation police targeted individuals considered part of the ‘B team’ of PTI’s top leadership.

    The list, comprising names, addresses, CNIC numbers, and mobile phone records, identified workers who allegedly made calls from protest venues during the May 9 violence against law enforcement agencies.

    Lahore DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar confirmed that the list was prepared based on information obtained during the interrogation of those arrested in connection with the May 9 attacks.

    “It took the Lahore investigation police 45 days to identify 884 new party workers and activists who were physically present at the Jinnah House and the Zaman Park,” he says, adding that many of them also took part in violent attacks at multiple sites on May 9.

    “The locations of most of them were traced at the Jinnah House and the Zaman Park from where they made mobile phone calls to contact the senior party leaders,” the officer alleges.

    Similarly, the police accessed their social media accounts for verification and got credible evidence of their physical presence at the attacked sites/venues through the posts they shared and the ones they later deleted to avoid arrests, the DIG investigation says.

    He further adds that the mobile phone data analysis of the already arrested senior political leaders of the PTI also helped the police identify the party activists and their involvement in the May 9 violence.

    “The major arrest was of Altaf Mahmood, a PTI hardcore activist, whose name was missing from the first list of May 9 attacks. He was the first who set some goods on fire at the Jinnah House (Corps Commander House) when he brought petrol bombs and other such inflammable material in a bag,” Mr Kishwar alleges.

    The arrests followed an earlier action against 1,958 PTI members, with outcomes ranging from innocence to obtaining bail or being declared proclaimed offenders.

  • Police baton-charges teachers and health workers in Lahore, Bahawalpur

    Police baton-charges teachers and health workers in Lahore, Bahawalpur

    In an attempt to deter protesting government employees, Lahore police subjected them to baton charging. The incident occurred on Thursday while protesters were holding a rally from the PMG chowk to Aiwan-i-Iqbal. There were more than a hundred government employees, both male and female teachers and health workers. As part of the crackdown they were shifted to different police stations of the city.

    The protest was held by All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), a coalition of 34 organisations representing many departments including health, education and higher education. Their protest is especially targeteding the Punjab Government and the district administration over the arrest of more than 200 teachers.

    They have a range of demands which include the restoration of leave encashment, reversal of amendments to pension regulations and cancellation of privatisation plans for public schools. To get their protests registered, many teachers are boycotting classes in the schools and colleges throughout the province for the last one week.

    The office bearers of AGEGA have held Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi responsible for all their complaints but they also pledged not to give up on their demands or surrender in front of violence.

    In Bahawalpur, Police booked around 200 employees under 16-MPO for making provocative speeches against the Government and blocking the road. An FIR lodged by the police says that the demonstrators were asked to unblock the road, however, they kept it blocked until action by police became imperative.

  • Punjab police allocates Rs400 million for police force healthcare

    Punjab police allocates Rs400 million for police force healthcare

    Inspector General Police Punjab, Dr Usman Anwar, announced that an estimated amount of Rs300 to 400 million will be allocated towards the healthcare welfare of the police force. This funding will cover all essential medical tests and treatments for conditions such as heart diseases, kidney ailments, and other vital organ disorders.

    Dr Anwar conveyed this message through a video addressed to the police force on Monday, emphasizing the importance of health screening and the provision of medical facilities. He informed that 50 per cent of the constabulary has already undergone health screening, with certain districts achieving 100 per cent completion. The Inspector General commended the District Police Officers (DPOs) responsible for ensuring the health screening of the constabulary in their respective districts.

    During the health screening process, employees were made aware of previously undetected diseases, including hepatitis B and C. Dr Anwar assured that a treatment for Hepatitis C has been discovered, and the department will provide free treatment to all affected employees suffering from the disease.

    Regarding hepatitis B, he mentioned that a permanent cure has not yet been found, but supportive treatment options are available to benefit affected employees. In order to safeguard the remaining police force and their families from this disease, it has been decided to administer vaccinations. The police department will bear all expenses associated with this initiative.

    Dr Anwar highlighted the safety of the vaccine, stating that he will personally receive the vaccination as a testament to its reliability. These measures are being taken to prioritize the health, well-being, and treatment of police personnel. He urged the police force to stand united as an impenetrable barrier against criminals, oppressors, and terrorists. The primary duty of the police force, as stated by the Inspector General, is to protect the lives, properties, and dignity of Pakistani citizens.

    In a separate development, a sum of Rs200,000 has been allocated from the welfare fund of Punjab Police for the medical treatment of the mothers of two martyrs from the Lahore Police, Constable Ghulam Murtaza and Constable Ali Raza. Additionally, a medical grant of Rs100,000 has been approved for ASI Qadeer Akhtar of Multan Police to cover the expenses of his brain surgery.

    Furthermore, the Inspector General has authorized an honorarium for the staff working in training colleges and schools throughout the province. An amount of Rs1.25 crore will be distributed among the staff members in training institutes located in Lahore, Sihala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Farooqabad, and Sargodha.

  • All weapons recovered from Imran’s Zaman Park residence are illegal, says police

    The Lahore police has said that all the weapons that were recovered by the authorities from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park are “unlicensed and illegal”.

    On March 20, Punjab Police raided Khan’s Zaman Park home, taking apart the entrance gate with a crane and entering the house, stating that they had search warrants.

    At the time, Khan was on his way to Islamabad to appear before a court in the Toshkhana case. He said that his wife Bushra Bibi was alone at home.

    The police said at least 13 SMGs, 7 Kalashnikovs, and 340 bullets were recovered from Zaman Park.

    Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that police found 16 rifles, arms, bombs and a bomb-making factory in Zaman Park.

  • Lahore police arrested more than 1,600 criminals in first week of 2023

    Lahore police arrested more than 1,600 criminals in first week of 2023

    During the first week of January 2023, Lahore police arrested 1,657 criminals in total.

    Police detained 254 people on suspicion of possessing illegal weapons and displaying them and 97 people on charges of aerial firing.

    62 people were detained by police on gambling-related offenses. Furthermore, the Lahore Police detained 227 individuals charged with major offenses within the first week of this year. During the first week of 2023, police made 227 proclaimed arrests.

    86 target offenders, 110 court absconders, 117 POs, and 24 criminals in the A category were all apprehended by police.

    Police detained 62 people for violating the kite-flying law. According to the National Action Plan, 114 people were detained under the Sound System Act, 115 under the Arms Act, 74 under the Security of Vulnerable Establishments Ordinance, 254 under the Tenancy Act, and one in a case involving hate speech.

  • Lahore police initiates crackdown against professional beggars

    Lahore police initiates crackdown against professional beggars

    On the orders of Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore, Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, special squads of the Lahore Police have started a crackdown against habitual and professional beggars in an effort to free the provincial capital of this annoyance.

    In keeping with its campaign against professional panhandlers, Lahore Police has so far detained 254 panhandlers, comprising 249 men and 5 women, from various parts of the city in cooperation with the Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (PCPWB) and other relevant agencies.

    While adult addict beggars were admitted to rehabilitation wards of relevant institutions chosen by the government in this regard, Lahore Police turned over the children beggars to the PCPWB.

    In accordance with the “Anti Beggary Act,” Lahore Police have so far this year detained 3,681 professional beggars, comprising 3,518 men and 150 women, and have filed 3,623 cases against them at various police stations throughout the city.

    As a result, during the crackdown, the Model Town division police detained 640 beggars while the City division police arrested 763, the Cantt division 546, the Civil Lines division police 425, the Iqbal Town division 546, and the Sadar division 701 beggars. Beggars who obstruct traffic at intersections and traffic signals have been the subject of separate action by the city traffic police, according to The News.

    According to the CCPO of Lahore, all divisional SsP have been given the unique responsibility of apprehending professional, falsely disabled, and regular beggars because the majority of them have criminal histories yet pose as beggars. Traffic police officers have been working with Lahore police special units to combat organised crime groups and professional begging.