In a heinous incident, four women including a teenager were stripped naked and beaten with sticks in Pakistan's Punjab province. The video of the incident is going viral on social
media, inciting rage among netizens.
According to reports, the women who are ragpickers were thrashed for over an hour and were paraded naked in Faislabad's Bawa Chak Market over suspicions of theft. As the mob continued
assaulting women, a few men filmed the incident and shared it over the internet.
An FIR has been filed against the four identified and 10 unidentified individuals based on the victim’s complaint. So far, five men have been arrested and police are raiding several
locations to apprehend others.
Four suspects, Saddam (owner of Usman Electric Store), Faisal and Zaheer Anwar (Saddam's employees), and Faqeer Hussain (the owner of a sanitary products' shop) have been named
in the FIR filed at Millat Town police station.
According to the complaint filed by victims, the women had gone to Bawa Chak Market on Monday around 10:30 a.m. to collect garbage. As they were thirsty, they went inside the shop to
ask for a bottle of water. However, the owner started shouting at them, accusing them of entering his shop with the purpose to steal.
Soon other suspects gathered after hearing the shouting and started assaulting them.
"They beat us for almost an hour and made our videos while we were naked," the complainant was quoted in FIR. "They stripped us, dragged us around the market and tortured
us. This is a gross injustice, and strict action should be taken against them," the victim said.
Later, family members of the victims got to know about the incident. They rushed to the scene and managed to free the women with the help of passersby.
Saddam, Faisal, Zaheer Anwar and Faqir Hussain have been arrested and a case has been filed against them under sections 354 A-509-147-149 TP.
Meanwhile, another video is surfacing on the internet that shows women stealing items from the shop and allegedly tearing their clothes themselves. The accused claim the same.
According to Geo TV, Superintendent of Police (SP) Naeem Aziz stated that the shopkeepers alerted the police that the women stole things from the store. When they were apprehended, they
ripped their clothes and threatened the shopkeeper. In the CCTV footage, some women can be seen tearing their clothes, according to SP Aziz.
A Twitter user shared CCTV footage of the shop, which showed the women taking items. One of the women was spotted forcing her way into the back of the store.
The investigation into the case is underway.