LAHORE: The police filed a first information report (FIR) at the Defence A Police Station, citing the dissemination of false information and unverified news on social media, shortly after a high-level committee appointed by the Punjab government released its preliminary findings regarding the alleged rape of a first-year female student at a private college in the city.
This comes after the supposed rape incident caused a public uproar on social media, spreading viral on many platforms and resulting in the widespread sharing of images of certain female students.
Following Monday’s protests in the streets by students of a private institution against the alleged rape, the issue gained attention online. After some protestors were hurt in violent altercations with police officers, the demonstration descended into violence. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the protests persisted in other province cities.In addition to section 354 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), section 500 (punishment for defamation), section 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and section 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), the police have registered the case under section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, which deals with “offences against dignity of a natural person.”
