LHC summons Lahore CCPO over remarks on motorway gang rape

LAHORE: Taking strong exception to Lahore CCPO Umer Sheikh’s remarks on the motorway gang rape in which he implied that the victim shared the blame for the incident, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday summoned him to explain his position.

A bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan was hearing a writ petition seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the incident. He directed the Lahore police chief to appear in personal capacity at 1pm.

Over the course of the hearing, the chief justice remarked that the entire provincial cabinet should have tendered an apology over the CCOP’s statement. “What investigation is this? The CCPO is putting the blame on the victim woman.”

He said many ministers gave strange statements following the incident.

The chief justice asked a government lawyer present in the courtroom if any action was taken against the Lahore police chief over the statement, to which the latter replied that an inquiry has been launched into the matter.

The top LHC judge remarked that the government can form a judicial commission as per the law, asking the petitioner to explain under what law should this court issue directive for the formation of the commission.

The counsel informed the court that an FIR of the incident has been registered with the investigation launched to bring the culprits to book.