MANSEHRA: Kolai-Palas police in Kohistan on Tuesday apprehended three members of the jirga who had decided to take the drastic step of ending the life of a young girl after the circulation of a video on social media.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Masood Khan announced the arrest of three suspects, shedding light on an ongoing effort to apprehend others who had advised the girl’s family to carry out this heinous act in response to the viral video.

The arrested men, including two paternal uncles of the deceased girl, are set to face legal proceedings as they will be presented before the local magistrate for physical remand.

Identified as Abdul Qayyum and Mohammad Naseer, these suspects played a pivotal role in the shocking decision made by the jirga, according to police.

FIA trying to establish identity of persons who uploaded video that led to killing

DSP Khan emphasised that the police force was actively conducting raids, particularly in the mountainous Barsharyal area of Kolai-Palas (Kohistan), to locate and apprehend all individuals involved in either orchestrating the murder or contributing to the jirga’s decision-making process.

The father of the victim, who was previously taken into custody, has now been handed over to the police by the Kolai-Palas magistrate on a seven-day remand.

DSP Khan said police also produced one of the young men, who could be seen with the slain girl in the video, before the magistrate of the area and recorded his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

An official said the young man claimed he had no idea who uploaded the video in question, or for what purpose.

A statement issued by the DIG Hazara Circle office claimed police were actively pursuing the case and a contingent of police was still present in the mountainous Sharyal village for more arrests.

Amid the investigation, the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime wing has actively stepped in to verify the authenticity, origin, owner and operator of the Facebook account responsible for uploading the video.

FIA Cybercrime Deputy Director Mohammad Asif said a thorough inquiry would be conducted to uncover the motive behind uploading the video.

He said that the video that was made up of photos uploaded on a single account.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2023