Punjab police arrest woman for falsely claiming to be mother of alleged PGC rape victim

Punjab police have arrested a woman, who falsely portrayed herself as the mother of an alleged rape victim, claiming that her daughter was sexually assaulted at a private college in Lahore.

After being apprehended in Karachi, the suspect, identified as Sarah Khan, was brought to Lahore, where an FIR was registered against her under the PECA Act, 2016 at the Gulberg Police Station.

The detained woman's TikTok account boasts a massive following of 117,100 users and has garnered 1.6 million likes.

During the initial investigation, the accused admitted to making the fake news viral on social media solely to gain views.

She is currently under further investigation and will appear before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to provide a detailed statement.

The JIT found that a social media page was specifically created to disseminate false information about the female student.

So far, four cases have been registered in connection with the incident

The FIA filed an FIR including names of several journalists and TikTokers who played a role in inciting unrest by sharing false information on their social media platforms.

Earlier, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz stated that PTI and PML-Q were responsible for spreading fake news about a sexual assault involving a female student at a private college in Punjab.

She asserted that a thorough investigation had revealed no such incident took place.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari also alleged that the protest at the private college was instigated by PTI’s student wing. 

She claimed that during the protest, miscreants disguised as parents entered the girls' college, wearing masks to conceal their identities.

The news of the alleged rape went viral on social media on October 13, with various accounts claiming that a security guard sexually assaulted a fist year intermediate student in the basement of Punjab College Campus 10 in Lahore’s Gulberg area.

On October 14, ASP Sheherbano Naqvi released a video statement alongside the victim’s father and uncle, describing the incident as “propaganda” and “misinformation.” 

The victim’s uncle revealed that the girl was in the ICU after falling down the stairs at home and that the false reports had caused severe mental distress for the family.