Lahore court releases 98 suspects arrested in connection with Minar-e-Pakistan incident
Police present 98 suspects before judicial magistrate during a hearing at a local court; say victim didn't identify them
September 03, 2021
- 98 suspects presented before Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema at a local court hearing.
- The victim identified only six out of the 104 suspects during an identification parade, say police.
- Court directs police to release the 98 suspects, whom the victim didn’t identify.
LAHORE: A local court in Lahore Friday ordered the release of 98 suspects —taken into custody for the Minar-e-Pakistan incident probe — after the victim could not identify them during an identity parade.
At the outset of the hearing, the police produced 98 suspected individuals before Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfaraz Cheema.
The police informed the court that the suspects had been taken into custody for manhandling TikToker Aisha Akram inside the Greater Iqbal Park (Minar-e-Pakistan) on Independence Day.
“Akram identified only six out of the 104 suspects presented during an identity parade,” maintained the police. At this, the court dismissed the 98 suspects, directing the police to release them.
Meanwhile, the Punjab deputy inspector-general said that the suspects identified by the victim are the fundamental characters involved in the incident.
He said that all the 400 men nominated as suspects in the First Information Report (FIR) are not involved in the case. However, the investigation is underway and other culprits will also be arrested soon, he added.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Human Rights presented a progress report on the case probe before the Senate's Standing Committee on Human Rights.
According to the report, six suspects — who had been identified by Akram during a second identity parade — were later arrested.
The incident
The Punjab police had booked at least 400 people for allegedly assaulting the victim at the Greater Iqbal Park on August 14.
The incident had come to light after a video went viral on social media, showing hundreds of men attacking the woman as she went to the park with four of her friends to celebrate Independence Day.
