October 15, 2024
Aitzaz Ibrahim
LAHORE
An inquiry committee has been formed by the Punjab government to investigate the case of the alleged rape of a female student in the Punjab College,(Gulberg, Campus 10). According to details, the high-level committee will investigate and submit the report to the Chief Minister within 48 hours.
A Punjab government notification said that the six member committee will work under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary Punjab, while Secretary Interior, Advocate General Punjab, Secretary Higher Education, Secretary Special Education, Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Health will all be members of the committee.
According to directives, the committee can also include any new members for assistance in the investigation. It will be collecting evidence regarding the alleged rape of the student, including recorded statements of students, teachers and the management of the college.
A case of alleged rape
Four or five days ago, news broke out on social media, alleging that a security guard of the campus had ‘raped an intermediate female student’ within the premises of the institution – in the basement parking lot.
On Monday, a protest by the students of the Punjab College outside the gates of the campus, turned violent as they began pelting rocks, breaking the gate and burning the furniture. Meanwhile, the police resorted to a baton-charge to disperse the crowd, as a result of which 27 students were injured.
A rescue team provided the injured students with medical aid. A day later, the students are still protesting against the alleged incident. The Progressive Students Collective (PSC) from the Government College marched from GCU to the Punjab University (old campus), demanding a transparent inquiry.
Police Action
DIG Operations Lahore Faisal Kamran, while holding a press conference on Monday, had said that after the news went viral on social media, the Lahore Police took immediate action and the accused security guard was immediately taken into custody. However so far, there has been no clue with regard to the identity of the girl or her family, even though the police claims that has been trying to trace them.
Therefore there has been no confirmation of the incident, while the accused, who has been detained by the police, has denied the allegation.
Identity of the student said to be rape survivor
Meanwhile the girl about whom it was being said on social media that she was allegedly rape survivor. But ASP Defence Shehrbano Naqvi on Tuesday released a video from the official page of ‘Punjab Police’ on X (Twitter) in which she introduced the father and uncle of that girl. The said girl’s father clarified that while rumours said that the rape-survivor was ‘fighting for her life in a hospital’, his daughter was not that girl, and that she had suffered from a fractured arm and had been absent from college lately because of that.
They condemned the false news that was circulating and labelling their daughter and niece as the rape survivor.
"سب کے گھروں میں مائیں، بہنیں اور بیٹیاں ہیں، ہماری آپ سے درخواست ہے کہ محض غلط خبر کی بنیاد پر والدین کے لئے ذہنی اذیت کا سبب نہ بنیں۔ کسی بھی ایسے واقعہ کی صورت میں پولیس خود اپنی مدعیت میں ایف آئی آر درج کرے گی مگر اس کے لئے ٹھوس شواہد اور مدعی کا موجود ہونا لازمی ہے لہذا… pic.twitter.com/OcBrY9CGxt
— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) October 14, 2024
Meanwhile SP Naqvi added that because of disinformation a tragic situation had developed. “a sad situation has emerged in Lahore due to disinformation.”
“We heard that a student of a private college who was allegedly raped has been taken to a private hospital,” she said. “We went to the hospital, and not only checked the records of this hospital but also checked the records of the mentioned private hospital. It was revealed that no one like that was admitted anywhere. It should also be noted that private hospital which is being named does not deal with medico-legal cases. Also no such case was dealt with even in the emergency department of the hospital.” She said it can be safely said that the alleged survivor did not go to this hospital.
لاہور میں افسوسناک صورتحال سامنے آئی جس کی وجہ ڈس انفارمیشن تھی۔ ہمیں یہ سننے کو ملا کہ ایک نجی کالج کی طالبہ جس کے ساتھ مبینہ طور پر زیادتی کی گئی اسے نجی ہسپتال میں لے جایا گیا ہے۔ ہم جس سرکاری ہسپتال میں موجود ہیں ہم نے نا صرف اس ہسپتال کا ریکارڈ چیک کیا بلکہ اس نجی ہسپتال کا… pic.twitter.com/qwQwSMemJX
— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) October 15, 2024
Response by College Administration
The administration of Punjab College has strongly denied any such incident, calling it ‘false’ and ‘baseless’. A statement from the management said that an investigation was being conducted with the police after the news surfaced on social media, but no such incident occurred at any of the branches.
On the other hand, the Directorate of Public Instruction (Colleges) has issued a notification suspending the registration certificate of the Punjab College for Women, Gulberg.