September 8, 2026
By Aitzaz Ibrahim
LAHORE
A 16-year-old boy from Depalpur was allegedly drugged, assaulted and gang-raped by four men in Sahiwal after one of the suspects contacted him through TikTok and offered him work, according to a case registered by Sahiwal police.
The incident took place on September 6, while a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Ghala Mandi Police Station on the complaint of the victim’s mother. Four suspects, identified in the case as Faisal, Abid, Shehzad and Fauji, have been nominated in the FIR.
According to the FIR, the victim, a resident of Depalpur, was active on the social media platform TikTok. Around 30 to 35 days before the alleged incident, Faisal contacted the teenager through his TikTok account and offered him an opportunity to work in Sahiwal.
The two remained in contact before the teenager eventually travelled from Depalpur to Sahiwal in connection with the offer. Faisal, who runs a fruit shop in the city, asked the boy to come to his workplace. After reaching Sahiwal and visiting the fruit shop, he did not find the proposed work suitable and asked Faisal to take him back home.
Instead, Faisal and another suspect, Shehzad, took the teenager to the house of their associate, identified as Fauji. Another suspect, Abid, also arrived at the house later.
The complainant alleged that the suspects gave her son an intoxicating substance, after which they sexually assaulted him. She further alleged that all four men raped the teenager while he was under the influence of the intoxicant.The boy was also allegedly subjected to physical violence during the incident, while the suspects snatched his mobile phone.
After the incident, the teenager informed his mother about what had allegedly happened to him, following which she approached the police for legal action against the suspects.Ghala Mandi Police subsequently registered the case against all four nominated suspects under Sections 376-A and 376(iii) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Speaking to Voicepk, the case’s Investigation Officer Akash Roheel said police had arrested Shehzad, one of the four nominated suspects, while efforts were underway to trace and arrest Faisal, Abid and Fauji.
Roheel said the remaining three suspects would be arrested soon. According to the investigation officer, the suspects were drug users and allegedly wanted to get the teenager involved in drug use as well.Regarding the allegation of gang rape, Roheel said confirmation would depend on the forensic report, which police were awaiting as part of the investigation.
Section 376(iii) of the PPC provides punishment for the rape of a minor or a person with a mental or physical disability. The offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life along with a fine. Section 376-A of the PPC deals with the disclosure of the identity of a victim of rape and provides punishment for publishing information that may reveal the victim’s identity.
The Sahiwal case comes amid continued reporting of sexual violence against children across Pakistan
According to Cruel Numbers 2025, an annual report by child rights organisation Sahil, at least 3,630 cases of child abuse were reported across Pakistan during 2025, an eight percent increase compared with the previous year. The data was compiled through the monitoring of 81 national and regional newspapers as well as cases received directly by the organisation.
Of the total cases documented during the year, 2,003 involved child sexual abuse. The report recorded 596 cases of sodomy and 522 cases of rape, while another 238 cases involved gang sexual assault.Punjab accounted for 73 percent of all child abuse cases documented in the report. In child sexual abuse cases specifically, the province accounted for 77 percent of the 2,003 cases recorded nationwide.