LAHORE - More than 200 protesters mostly students were arrested by Rawalpindi Police amid violent clashes erupted over the alleged rape of a student in Lahore. The Punjab denies the incident and claims it was fake news.
The police wielded to batons and used tear gas to disperse students demonstrating against the alleged rape. Last week, reports related to the alleged rape of a private college student went viral on social media, prompting the police to arrest a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved in the incident.
Enraged by the alleged incident, students mobilised on social media and staged protests outside different colleges in Lahore over the past few days. On Monday, at least 28 were injured due to clashes with the security guards of the college and police.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has declared that the alleged rape was “fabricated news”, blaming the PTI for spreading the “fake reports” on social media. Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) group Director Agha Tahir and other office-holders have termed the incident “baseless”. Rawalpindi police officials said Thursday that more than 200 violent protesters had been arrested on Thursday and the situation was now completely under control.
The Punjab government also announced a holiday for all private and public schools, universities and colleges in the province on Friday (today), according to an official notification. According to a notification on Thursday, the government also imposed Section 144 in the province for the next two days — October 18 and 19. The notification said that all kinds of protests and rallies will be banned in the province.
The government’s decision to impose Section 144 was made to maintain law and order and protect of human lives and property, said the notification. The development comes after the ongoing protests across the Punjab which have been prompted by the alleged rape of a college girl in Lahore. The province has been witnessing unrest over the rape allegations which went viral on social media platforms prompting students to hold multiple demonstrations across various cities in recent days.
Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Bilal Siddique Kamyana on Thursday said that no evidence had been found to confirm the incident at a private college.
Addressing a press conference with DIG Operations Faisal Kamran, the CCPO mentioned that a video related to a private college went viral on social media. As soon as the incident was reported, the college’s CCTV footage was reviewed, but nothing was found, he added.
Kamyana said that the hospitals mentioned on social media were also checked, and the names of the girls in the video were investigated.
“One of the girls is married, and the students who have initially spoken about the incident have now retracted their statements. So far, no evidence has been found to confirm the incident,” he added.
The CCPO further said that a high-level government committee also declared the incident baseless. Motorcycles were burnt on Wednesday, 24 people were arrested, and students involved in violence were warned and released, he added.
He stated that a case had been registered under cybercrime with the FIA.
“If there is any evidence regarding the private college, it should be brought forward, and action will be taken. No proof has been found yet, and both the FIA and police are investigating,” he mentioned.
He said that the guard mentioned in the incident had taken leave and gone to his village. The guard was called back and included in the inquiry, he said and added that since the incident never happened, there couldn’t had been any mishandling. He affirmed that strict action would be taken against those involved in the violence.