PGC incident: Woman who identified as 'mother of rape victim' sent on physical remand

LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday extended physical remand of a woman who was allegedly involved in spreading fake news about a rape incident at a private college in Lahore by posing herself as the mother of the purported victim. 

The police produced the accused woman named Sara Khan before the ATC judge and requested an extension in the physical remand. The investigators maintained one mobile phone used by the accused in ‘spreading’ fake news has been recovered while another one still has to be recovered.

The police maintained that the woman’s remand is required for further investigation. The ATC judge while approving the police request sent the accused woman on another six-day physical remand.

ATC judge Arshad Javed conducted hearing of the case. The suspect, identified as Sara Khan, was produced in court by police.

The judge ordered the police to produce the suspect in court on Nov 7 after completion of the physical remand.

A case was earlier registered against the suspect in the Gulberg police station under the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act (PECA) 2016.

Following a case filed against her with the Gulberg police station, the OCU Model Town police took action after Sara Khan, the woman, posted a TikTok video to social media that went viral, sparking further controversy surrounding the alleged rape case. The incident was already in the news, which incited the students to agitate violently.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had also booked 20 suspects including journalists and social media activists for allegedly spreading misinformation and defaming a private college in Lahore ‘rape’ case.

The case was registered on the complaint of the Principal of the private college Saadia Javed, stating that the accused persons ran a malicious campaign on social media, harming the institution’s reputation.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), an inquiry found no evidence of rape or the alleged victim’s existence. “The accused created unrest among students with their false claims,” the FIR stated. CCTV footage and the investigation with a security guard revealed no evidence of the alleged incident.

Read more: Punjab CM forms committee to probe ‘rape incident’ at private college

Earlier, a high-level committee formed to probe the Lahore private college incident finalised its report, recommending measures to end spread of fake news on social media.

The committee comprising chief secretary Punjab, advocate general Punjab, secretary interior, secretary higher education, and secretary special education in its report maintained that the students need to differentiate between positive and negative activities.

“Effective measures are needed to curb hate speech and fake news on social media. Influencers and vloggers should promote positivity and counter harmful content,” the report read.