MUZAFFARGARH: Police arrested a shopkeeper for thrashing a woman in public, accusing her of stealing a bundle of cloth from his shop in a market at Shah Jamal town, some 20km from here.

According to a police spokesperson, suspect Fahad, who runs a cloth shop in a market of Shah Jamal town, on Tuesday pounced upon a woman and badly thrashed her in public.

The suspect warned the onlookers against rescuing the woman, who was crying, and requesting him to leave her.

The shopkeeper, however, alleged that the woman had stolen a bundle of cloth from his shop a couple of days back and disappeared, claiming he had also filed a complaint against her with the local police.

Eyewitnesses says that on being informed of the incident, a police team detained the shopkeeper but later released him. However, after someone shared a clip of the torture incident on social media, the police again arrested the shopkeeper.

The police spokesperson says District Police Officer Syed Hasnain Haider, taking notice of the incident, ordered arrest of the suspect.

He says a case has also been registered against the suspect under sections 292 and 354 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2024