Fact-check: True. Gunmen of a private housing society thrash cops in Sialkot

A video is being shared online with the claim that employees of a private housing society in Sialkot, Punjab, had assaulted police officials, including the area’s Station House Officer (SHO).

Other social media users questioned the authenticity of the video.

The claim is true. Cops were indeed attacked by a group of men, as can be seen in the online footage.

Claim

On August 18, a Facebook user shared a clip of several men surrounding and thrashing two uniformed police officers on a main road.

The user alleged that one of the police officers seen in the video was Tahir Naqash, posted in Daska, Sialkot.

“This is very sad to see,” the user wrote, “Is there no respect for the police? Is the Punjab police so weak?”

The caption added that none of the men who attacked the police have been arrested.

The post has been viewed over 27,500 times, to date.

Another Facebook user wrote that the gunmen of a private housing society had clobbered SHO Tahir Naqash.

A similar claim took off on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, here, here and here.

Fact

The Sialkot police confirm that an SHO and other cops were indeed tortured by the private gunmen of Aghaz Housing Society in the city.

Khurram Shahzad, a public relations officer at the district police office (DPO), told Geo Fact Check over the phone that on August 14, the Independence Day, the administration of the housing society had installed loudspeakers on a roof, which was a violation of the Punjab Sound Systems (Regulation) Act 2015.

Shahzad added that when the police tried to stop them, the society’s gunmen threatened and tortured the police. He explained that to date four men have been arrested.

“The men were also armed,” Shahzad said, “Police recovered weapons from them.”

Geo Fact Check has seen a copy of the police complaint.

Furthermore, a statement shared with Geo Fact Check by the spokesperson of the inspector general of Punjab Police also confirms that four men have been cuffed in connection to the violence, and the police have also recovered two rifles and one Kalashnikov from the arrested.

Separately, Geo Fact Check reached out to the management of the housing society for a comment, but has not received a response till the filing of this report.

With additional reporting by Fayyaz Hussain

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