Minar-e-Pakistan incident: Tiktoker Rambo claims Ayesha Akram wanted to extort money from suspects

LAHORE: A suspect in the Minar-e-Pakistan harassment incident has alleged that Tiktoker Ayesha Akram wanted to extort money from those named in the case.

Rambo, who was detained by Lahore Police a day earlier, told media during a court appearance on Saturday that he had tried to save Ayesha's life. "This is how one is repaid for saving someone's life. The lesson here is that one should not help anyone."

He alleged that Ayesha wanted to take Rs500,000 from each of the suspects in the case.

“When I tried to convince her not to do so, she used foul language and threatened me that if I did not accept her demands, I may have to face jail,” he further alleged.

Yesterday, eight more suspects were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the case after the victim issued a new statement on Friday.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shariq Jamal Khan said that the detained suspects include the victim's fellow TikTokers Rambo and Amir Sohail, along with six others.

He said that the victim, Ayesha Akram, had nominated Rambo and 12 others in the statement, holding them responsible for the incident.

It must be noted that Rambo is the person who was seen defending Ayesha in numerous videos following the incident going viral.

According to the police, of the 104 suspects initially taken into custody for allegedly assaulting Ayesha, six have so far been identified by the victim, while three have confessed to the crime.

The suspects identified include Shehryar, Mehran, Abid, Arsalan, Sajid, and Iftikhar.

Later, a local court ordered the release of the rest of the 98 suspects, as Ayesha could not identify them during an identity parade.

The incident

In yet another terrifying episode of violence against women, a female TikToker in Lahore's Greater Iqbal Park was assaulted by hundreds of men on August 14.

The incident came to light after a video went viral on social media, showing hundreds of men attacking her as she went to the park with four of her friends to celebrate Independence Day.

Police had initially registered a case against 400 people allegedly involved in the incident.

The victim, along with her friends, was making a TikTok video in the park when hordes of men of all ages climbed a fence and attacked the woman.

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.