Twitter wants police to arrest girls who beat up boy in Lahore

A video of a group of girls beating up a shopkeeper in Lahore has gone viral on the internet. Some netizens claimed that the girls were daughters of an influential lawyer, adding that they had beaten the boy because they thought he was harassing them.

In the video, the girls appear to have initiated the assault, with the boy at the receiving end of their blows and slaps.

CCTV footage shows girls standing at the cash counter of a tuck shop holding coffee mugs while a young salesman is sitting at the counter with the cashier. The girls start talking angrily and then barge inside the counter.

One girl, clad in a black T-shirt, grabs the salesman’s neck and slaps him; the other girls grab the boy’s hair and hit him. An elderly customer forbade the girls, but reportedly, they hurled abuses at him and went to the police station.

The incident happened on Saturday night in the Garden Town area of Lahore at a petrol pump tuck shop. The boy was then arrested on charges of harassment, as per Geo, on the complaint of one of the girls, Iman Zahra.

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She stated in the complaint that both the salesmen made obscene gestures, and when she complained, salesman Yusuf, along with the cashier, abused them.
Social media lambasted the girls for their inhumane behaviour.

Ihtisham ul Haq called the whole act of violence “disgusting”.

Activist Shama Junejo pointed out that the girls come from an influential background. Lahore Police’s Twitter handle replied to her, “On July 7, the police registered an FIR on a harassment complaint by the girls. Today, based on video evidence, these boys were acquitted. However, if any application is received from these boys, action will be taken according to merit.”

To this, Shama replied, “When a crime is shown in a video, is it necessary to take action only on the complaint of the victim? Can’t it happen?”

Netizens criticised Lahore police for this response as Ashir Azeem Gill, an ex-civil servant, actor and activist sarcastically wrote, “Well Done, Lahore police. Tomorrow you’ll say, how can we catch the killer, the deceased hasn’t filed a case.”