Hasan Raheem clarifies context behind viral shopkeeper assault video

A video of a group of girls aggressively beating a shopkeeper has gone viral on social media, leading many celebrities and citizens to call for their arrest. Today, singer Hasan Raheem released a statement on Instagram, offering background information and clarifying that the women in the video were the victims, not the perpetrators.

“Salam everyone. I would like to clarify a few things from the last video. Some facts have come up after we got accounts from the people who were present there,” Hasan began.

He urged people to be cautious before reacting without context. “It’s very easy to blame someone without understanding the full context. These girls are getting death threats from random people and we need to make sure this situation doesn’t escalate from here,” he added.

Hasan explained that the shopkeeper had been making lewd remarks towards the women, which led to the altercation. “These girls are not the daughters of a lawyer, and this has been confirmed by multiple sources. The shopkeeper referred to them as prostitutes on night duty. You can see him smirking in the video after remarking,” Hasan shared.

He continued, “When the girls questioned him, he retaliated and abused them. The girls shouldn’t have raised their hands on him; they should have called the police. The person speaking in the video has also apologized for not telling the full truth.”

In a second post, Hasan expressed concern about people quickly jumping to conclusions without understanding the full story. “It is so easy to jump on the bandwagon and begin slandering someone,” he said.

“It was not right for them to get physical, but there is a limit to how long one can stay silent in such a situation,” Hasan added. “Women in this country are very aware of their security issues. Learn to take care of your mothers and sisters so they won’t have to take matters into their own hands next time.”