October 16, 2024
By Aitzaz Ibrahim
LAHORE
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, on Wednesday, October 16, dismissed the allegations of rape of a female student, on the premises of a college and termed it a ‘fabricated story’, accusing the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf of fuelling rumours that resulted in student protests.
News of the alleged rape went viral on social media a few days ago, leading to students storming the campus of Punjab College, a privately run college in the Gulberg locality of Lahore on October 14. In the meantime the Punjab police detained a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved in the incident. Meanwhile, the girl about whom it was being said on social media that she was allegedly rape survivor. However, the family of the girl clarified that her injury had not been due to any sexual assault, adding that the girl had suffered an injury at home because and had been hospitalised for the last two weeks.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, CM Maryam Nawaz said as soon as the college administration and police had received the report of the alleged rape, where a security guard was accused, the administration had immediately taken action.
“From that day onwards, we are still searching for this alleged rape victim,” she said.
Nawaz further said that on October 10, the name of a girl was mentioned, claiming she was a rape survivor, but this girl had been hospitalized since October 2. She was admitted to the ICU after falling at home and being seriously injured.
Nawaz added that she spoke with the girl’s mother last night, who was in a state of shock. She said the girl’s mother had undergone surgery herself and told her that she did not need anything, but it was the government’s responsibility to expose and bring to justice those behind this conspiracy. The chief minister said the press conference was being held at the request of the girl’s mother to expose those who fabricated the story.
PTI accused of fomenting student protests
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz accused the opposition PTI of being involved in the propaganda. She stated that after repeated failures of protests and violent calls, the PTI had now hatched a plan to deliberately mislead and instigate youth through social media.
“The girl is not a rape victim, but a victim of bad politics and a conspiracy,” she said.
Maryam said PTI ran a campaign using lies and described it as a ‘terrorist party’, which used social media to incite students with a false campaign. Since no incident had even taken place, there were no witnesses, but paid vloggers had exaggerated the issue.
Suspect arrested for spreading disinformation
In a message later posted on X, CM Maryam Nawaz announced that a man has been arrested for spreading disinformation on social media relating to the college rape allegations. She shared a picture of the person but gave no details on the identity of the suspect.
“The person who propagated a blatant lie, incited violence, and provoked the students has now been arrested,” she said. “As promised, I will not spare anyone who was part of the conspiracy and propaganda that have gravely affected an innocent girl and her family, alleging a rape that never happened,” she wrote on X.
No victim or witnesses in CCTV footage to prove rape happened
Prior to the CM’s press conference, the Director of Punjab Group of Colleges, Agha Tahir Ejaz, along with other administrators, also held a press conference, calling the incident ‘a conspiracy to defame the college’. He said a post on Instagram had been shared on October 12 about the alleged rape of a girl, claiming the parking lot had gates behind which the incident took place. “However, there are no gates in our parking lot,” he said. The police saw the post on social media and reviewed the data from the college’s CCTV cameras, he added.
Ejaz said that they had learned some students were spreading this story. They asked those students for the girl’s name and contact details so they could reach out.
“Neither did any victim come forward, nor were there any witnesses,” he said. He said that the family of the other injured girl, who had been falsely presented as the victim, has also given their statement, and the security guard who was accused had been taken into custody immediately after the allegation came to light. A systematic propaganda campaign was being run against the college on social media, he said.
On October 15, Lahore’s Defence-A police station registered a first information report related to the alleged rape case.
Case lodged to probe disinformation
In the FIR lodged by the police, it was said that a video was circulating on social media, claiming that a female student from a private college had been allegedly raped and was currently being treated in a private hospital.
The FIR added that, to verify the viral video, a sub-inspector and a female constable went to the site and began investigating the situation. During this time, the student involved was identified, though her name has been kept confidential, and further action was taken. Various individuals, including students, were questioned about the incident. Following this, the police met with the girl’s parents and tried to gather details about the incident.
The girl and her parents completely denied the incident and provided a written statement saying their daughter had not been subjected to any form of assault but had instead fallen on October 2, resulting in injuries. Due to these injuries, she was treated at General Hospital and Ittefaq Hospital until October 11.
The parents’ written statement further explained that their daughter had been prescribed bedrest for 15 days and had not gone to the college or any other place during that time. This video was made only to defame them, and it had no basis in reality, the FIR stated.
The FIR detailed that based on the verified information, it is clear that the viral video was intended not only to harm the girl and her family but also to mislead the public, especially students and the youth, as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to provoke them against government institutions. They were incited to protest, causing significant financial damage due to arson and vandalism. Therefore, a complete investigation into the incident must be conducted, and the individuals involved should face strict legal action to ensure justice.
After the rape report emerged, students of Punjab Colleges staged a violent protest outside Campus No. 10 on Monday. The protesting students broke the college gate and set furniture on fire. During this time, police dispersed the demonstrators using baton charges, resulting in 27 students being injured. The injured students were given medical assistance by rescue teams.