Islamabad: The federal police with assistance from Punjab police and law enforcement agencies have taken into custody several relatives of suspects who have allegedly been part of a gang involved in harassment, blackmailing and video recording of young girls and boys. The gang went into hiding after the police arrested some of their accomplices.
The main accused in the case of Usman Abrar and his four other accomplices are already in police custody and an operation has been launched against members of their syndicate on the basis of information provided by them.
A district and sessions judge of Islamabad had on Friday handed the accused to police custody on remand until July 12.
The police also detained the relative of a man who is suspected of making the video of Usman Abrar and others while they held the couple at gunpoint, forced them to strip and beat them up.
After the video went viral on social media, Prime Minister Imran Khan personally took notice of the incident and directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Qazi Jamilur Rehman to keep him updated about the progress in the case.
According to a senior police official, the investigation in the case was in the initial stage as the investigators were still busy identifying and tracing the suspects.
Besides, they were also requesting the couple to submit written statements and become complainants in the case. The mobile phones and laptops of the suspects were also being analysed to find out if the suspects were involved in organised crime.
The netizens meanwhile, have urged the police and the government to make the case of harassment an example for others.
Journalist Khalid Mahmood in his tweet demanded of the Islamabad district administration to ensure that secret cameras are uninstalled from the rooms of hotels, particularly guest houses.
The suspects were arrested by Islamabad police after a video of the incident went viral on social media. In the video, which officials said was a few months old, six people are seen sexually harassing the couple.
The suspects held the couple at gunpoint, stripped them and then subjected them to physical torture.
They can also be seen abusing the couple verbally and physically forcing them to do vulgar acts. One of the suspects had shared the video with a friend who made it viral on social media.
