Man arrested for harassing, groping woman in Karachi

KARACHI: A day after a disturbing video emerged showing a woman being harassed and groped on a residential area street in Pak Colony, the suspect on Thursday was taken into custody and confessed to his shocking offence, according to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Asad Reza.

DIG Reza confirmed that the suspect, currently in police custody, admitted to sexually assaulting and inappropriately touching the victim during interrogation. Based on his confession, police have lodged a case against him, initiating legal proceedings.

The footage of the disturbing incident, obtained by Geo News, shows a veiled (Burka-clad) woman walking down a street when an unidentified man approaches her from behind and gropes her. The brave woman started screaming for help, forcing the man to flee the scene.

The face of the assailant is clearly visible in the CCTV footage, which would go a long way in incriminating and putting the predator behind bars to set an example for those who are out there roaming the streets terrorising women and young girls with impunity.

This incident is one of those few that got caught on camera as CCTV cameras are not installed or operational in every part of the city. This degenerative attitude exhibited by adult males is one of the leading causes of discouraging women from going out to study and work.

Such harassments are faced by women in public spaces all over the world, but in some countries, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. With the suspect's confession, authorities are likely to move swiftly towards prosecution.

In January 2024, a biker was caught on a CCTV camera brazenly groping a mother in front of her child in a street of a residential area in North Karachi in district central.

Similarly, in 2023, two women were touched inappropriately in separate instances. In one of the incidents, the attacker tried to sexually assault a woman in the middle of a street in the metropolis. 

These are only those such incidents that were caught on camera and the tip shows how big the iceberg of street groping attacks is.