TikToker held for false claims in Lahore ‘rape case’
LAHORE: The Organised Crime Unit (OCU) of Lahore police on Thursday arrested a woman TikToker who had claimed to be the mother of the alleged ‘rape victim’ of Punjab College.
She was arrested on charges of making a false claim and inciting public sentiment against the government authorities, urging the people to mobilise for street demonstrations.
The OCU Model Town police acted following a case lodged against her with the Gulberg police station after the woman, Sara Khan, recorded a TikTok video and uploaded it on the social media which went viral, creating another round of controversy over the alleged rape case as the matter was already in the limelight, provoking the students for violent agitation.
OCU DIG Imran Kishwar told Dawn that a special police team arrested the woman on Thursday when she went to Lahore High Court to get bail in another case lodged against her by the cyber crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
He said the police teams were in search of the TikToker following a case registered against her on the complaint of Gulberg police sub-inspector Mohammad Imran under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act, 2016 and other charges. He said as Sara Khan was nominated in the FIR after the controversial video disseminated rapidly across social media platforms, showcasing the anonymous woman who posited an alarming assertion that the female student from the Punjab College, who allegedly fell victim to a heinous act of sexual assault, was her daughter.
During the investigation process, the DIG said, the woman was ascertained to be Sara Khan, a resident of Karachi with her permanent address in Multan.
Following the sensitivity of the matter, the Punjab government had formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to conduct the probe.
Model Town OCU SP Aftab Phularwan was the convener of the JIT while other members included DSP Faisal Shareef, woman inspector Fiza and one each representative from Intelligence Bureau and FIA.
Mr Kishwar said the arrested TikToker has been handed over to the JIT for further investigation.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2024