Staff Reporter
The identification parade of 104 men, accused of harassing and groping a woman at Minar-i-Pakistan on August 14, has been rescheduled for September 1.
Last week, a Lahore sessions court had instructed the police to conduct the parade on August 28, but It was delayed because the woman did not show up. She will now be taken to the Camp Jail at 10am on September 1.
Magistrate Rizwan Ahmed, who had been initially appointed in-charge of the parade, recently contracted coronavirus. He will be replaced by another special judicial magistrate.
The court has instructed the superintendent of the jail to oversee all the arrangements. The police have, on the other hand, been instructed to ensure foolproof security. On Saturday, the families of the suspects protested outside the jail.
They said their children have been arrested without any evidence. Since August 21, 104 suspects have been sent to jail for identification. the men were identified through geofencing and face matching.
The prosecution team has instructed the police to submit the statement of the victim and her friend in court, along with a list of men arrested so far. The police have also been told to keep the court updated on the identification process.
Minar-e-Pakistan incident: The victim said that she was at the Minar-e-Pakistan with her friends to make a video for her YouTube channel when suddenly more than 300 to 400 men attacked them.
The victim said when she and her friends tried to get away from the crowd, the guards at the Minar opened the gate of the fence and they went inside.
The men jumped over the fence and surged towards us and started pulling me, the woman said. She said that they clawed and tore her clothes.
She said that some men tried to help her but the crowd was so overwhelmingly large that they couldn’t do anything.
She said that the mob of men also assaulted her partner Amir Sohail’s friend and snatched his cellphone and Rs15,000. They even forcefully took off my gold ring and gold earrings, she said.
