Rawalpindi men film teenage girl on road after stripping her clothes, post video online

RAWALPINDI: A group of men were accused of filming a teenage girl on the road after stripping off her clothes, posting the video clip online, and allegedly gang-raping her, police confirmed Thursday but said they had been released on pre-arrest bail.

Authorities in Rawalpindi said a first information report (FIR) had been registered against "intoxicated young men [who] stripped a 17-year-old girl naked and made a video" near Saidpuri Gate in the Rawat police station's jurisdiction.

The accused had reportedly undressed the girl and made a video of her but police only sprang into action when the video surfaced on social media.

They said the girl told them that the men had also gang-raped her at knifepoint. The scope of the investigation has therefore been widened after the survivor's statement, they added.

In her statement, the teenager said she was helpless, did not have any support, and was the "sole breadwinner for my three orphaned brothers".

"I was returning from working at someone's home at night," she said in her statement. "I went to the Banni police station but police refused to file a report.

"I have no support. The accused had threatened me so I remained silent. Police only contacted me after they watched the video on social media," she added.

Rawalpindi police, on the other hand, explained that although a raid was carried out to arrest the accused, their families resisted and the men were free on pre-arrest bail until August 7.

They added that the accused faced prior complaints of drug-peddling, as well as the rape of a boy, filed at the Banni police station.