Dawn Images

The Faisalabad police constituted on Wednesday a special committee to interrogate the suspects involved in the sexual assault, humiliation and torture of a dentistry student and supervise the investigation. Before action was taken, many triggering videos of the assault had gone viral on social media. Now celebrities are calling on people not to circulate these videos.

Taking to his Instagram stories, Ahsan Khan wrote, “Rather than sharing the viral video of a young woman who was brutally tortured and humiliated for refusing this lowlife’s proposal. it’s better to shame the culprit and the woman who was filming all this.”

Actor Bilal Qureshi also took to the photo-sharing app and appreciated the police for taking prompt action by arresting the main culprits but questioned why his daughter, who also abused her friend, hadn’t been arrested yet. “Mazloom ko nahi zalim ko viral karo [Make the oppressor viral, not the victim],” he wrote while requesting the authorities to punish them in such a manner that no one commits such a crime ever again.

“Speechless and angry but unfortunately she won’t get justice because of our poor system! She will be just like other victims who are still fighting to get justice,” said model Alyzeh Gabol. She also wrote that her heart goes out to the student and others like her who have been suffering the same violence but their cases are either hidden or being overlooked. “May Allah help all those who are helpless in front of animals like these,” she concluded.

Some industry stars took to Twitter, including Ushna Shah and Samina Peerzada. The veteran actor questioned what’s happening in her country.

“My darling sister Khadija, if you are reading this.. YOU are not who has been shamed, it is the monsters who did this to you. May you heal from this trauma and come out stronger than ever,” wrote Shah.

What happened?

Fifteen suspects were booked for abduction, torture, extortion and sexual assault on the complaint of a final year dentistry student after the Faisalabad city police officer took notice of the August 8 incident.

The complainant, a resident of Faisalabad, said in her FIR that she lived with her elderly mother as her two brothers resided in the UK and Australia. She said that she had a friendship and was on family terms with her school fellow.

She said that her plight began when her friend’s brother proposed to her for marriage, but she and her family rejected the proposal. She said on Aug 8, when her brother returned form the UK, the suspect and 14 accomplices arrived at their house and to force her brother to accept the marriage proposal.

She said when her brother rejected the proposal, the suspect and his accomplices tortured her and her brother and forcibly took them to the suspect’s house where they again thrashed them. She said the suspect also forced her to lick his shoes, shaved her head and an eyebrow and filmed the humiliating episode.

While 15 people are behind the bars, her friend is still at large, which is why raids are being conducted to arrest her, City Police Officer Omar Saeed Malik told Dawn, adding that her name would also be placed on the Exit Control List.