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LAHORE: A district and sessions court in Lahore on Monday granted the police three-day physical remand of six suspects in the Minar-i-Pakistan assault case.
The suspects had previously been identified by the female TikToker Ayesha Akram during an identification parade. They were presented in the court of Judicial Magistrate Hassan Sarfraz Cheema today.
Police requested the magistrate to grant them physical custody of the suspects, with the prosecution lawyer informing the court that the suspects’ statements needed to be recorded. For his part, the suspect’s counsel argued they had already been in jail for 28 days.
The magistrate asked the suspects whether they wanted to say something, upon which one of the suspects claimed that “God is witness, we are being wronged.”
Another suspect said he was a labourer and had been called by police to the station on the basis of geofencing results, following which he was arrested. “I went to Minar-i-Pakistan but I have nothing to do with TikTok,” said another suspect.
The judge granted police a physical remand of the suspects and directed that they be produced in the court on Sept 9. He also directed police to submit a report of the investigation on the six suspects in the next hearing.
On Friday, a judicial magistrate at the district courts discharged 98 suspects in the Minar-i-Pakistan TikToker assault case as the victim did not recognise them in the identification parade.
The identification parade of 104 suspects was conducted at the Camp Jail on Sept 1 under the supervision of a judicial magistrate. TikToker Ayesha Akram and her team members were present in the jail to identify the suspects. The complainant and the witnesses identified only six suspects.
Lorry Adda police produced the remaining 98 suspects before the magistrate and filed a discharged report. The police said the suspects were no more required in the case. Magistrate Hassan Sarfraz Cheema discharged the suspects.
Police had registered a first information report (FIR) against hundreds of unidentified persons for assaulting and stealing from the female TikToker and her companions at the city’s Greater Iqbal Park on Independence Day.