Minar-e-Pakistan assault: Lahore court sends 14 more on judicial remand

• Total suspects sent on judicial remand increase to nearly 110.
• Court asks police to produce suspects on expiry of remand term.
• Hundreds of men had assaulted a woman in Lahore on August 14.

LAHORE: A local court on Tuesday sent 14 more suspects involved in harassing and assaulting a TikToker at the Greater Iqbal Park on August 14 to jail on judicial remand for an identification parade — bringing up the total number of people on remand to nearly 110.

The court order came after the Lari Adda police produced the suspects before a judicial magistrate at district courts.

The investigation officer requested the court to send the suspects to jail on judicial remand for an identification parade — which would help police proceed further in the case.

Responding to the request, the court sent the suspects to jail on judicial remand and directed the police to produce them before it on expiry of their remand period.

Hundreds of men had assaulted a female TikToker in Lahore's Greater Iqbal Park on August 14, as she was shooting a TikTok video in the park.

The victim told the police that the men groped her, tore off her clothes, beat her, and tossed her in the air. In addition, they robbed her of Rs15,000, snatched her mobile phone, and took off her gold ring and studs.

In yesterday's proceedings, the court had approved sending 20 more people on remand and asked police to wrap up the identification process at the earliest.

The police also submitted the initial medical report of the TikToker in the court, which mentioned that there were scratch marks on the woman's body.

In light of the medical report, changes have been made in the FIR, the investigating officer told the court and submitted it to the judicial magistrate.

Section 395 (imprisonment for life, or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine) of the Pakistan Penal Code has also been added in the FIR, the officer said.

The police had earlier registered a case against 400 men for assaulting the woman.

PM takes notice of female Tiktoker's assault

On August 18, Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken notice of the Minar-e-Pakistan, a close aide of the PM, Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari had tweeted.

PM Imran Khan personally spoke to IG Punjab on the manhandling of the woman and the vandalisation of Ranjit Singh’s statue at Lahore Fort, Bukhari had said.

'Why was this done?'

The victim, days after the incident during an interview, had said: "Why was this done? I never did anything wrong to anyone. No one even knew me."

"Is this my punishment for being a daughter of Pakistan?" she had asked.