Punjab College rape allegations: How the controversy unfolded

Protests in Lahore entered their third day on Wednesday following allegations that a security guard raped a first-year intermediate student (equivalent to a high school junior) at Punjab Group of Colleges' Campus 10.

Students claim the incident occurred last week in the basement of the all-girls facility in Gulberg.

Speaking to Nuktaon condition of anonymity, a student from Campus 10 recounted hearing an ambulance during her lecture, which sparked the initial concern.

Subsequently, chatter in various class WhatsApp groups regarding the ambulance at the school revealed that a student had reportedly recorded a video of a girl being transported to the ambulance on a stretcher. The principal allegedly confiscated the phone, deleted the footage of the evidence, and smashed it in front of the student's class.

Screenshot of a chat on Instagram between two students discussing the smashing of phone incident by the college's principal.justicefor1styearpgcgirl/Instagram

The student added that their doubts intensified when campus guards were replaced on Friday, and some teachers reportedly instructed girls in different classes not to go alone to drink water or use the restroom.

How did the allegation go viral?

Students learned about the incident through various social media channels. Some discovered it through posts shared in group chats from Newdity.pk while others came across an Instagram reel posted by user @ahsenetix.

Newdity.pk, which described itself in its bio as the "First Gen Z news platform of Pakistan," and the account @sarcaxxm, are both now deactivated. Instagram user @ahsenetix, who typically posts about issues in educational institutions, has continued sharing content related to the matter.

During our investigation, we couldn't trace the exact origin of the WhatsApp messages that initially spread the news. However, exactly as some students of the said campus had claimed in interviews, we found an Instagram reel making the allegations posted by @ahsenetix from Saturday, October 12, at 7:48 pm.

One of the accounts tagged in this reel, newdity.pk, also shared information about the incident on Instagram. Although the post has since been deleted or archived, it had already gone viral. The account holder posted on their broadcast channel (with 101.4K members) at 9:08 pm on Saturday, claiming that "management is hiding the incident" and urging everyone to share the post.

A screenshot from newdity.pk regarding news of alleged rape.

Most students we interviewed stated that they learned about the news through screenshots of these Instagram and WhatsApp posts, which prompted them to plan the protest.

On October 13, 2024, at 12:30 am, X (formerly Twitter) user @nidorants shared screenshots of a chat allegedly showing a teacher telling students the news was fake. This is the earliest mention we could find of the incident on X.

This image shows a post on X that shared screenshots of an alleged teacher's chat claiming the news of the Punjab College rape is fake.@nidorants/X

A YouTube search for "Punjab college rape" revealed that the oldest video on the topic, uploaded on October 13 (Sunday) at 11:46 p.m., was by a channel called SNO Record. The video was titled "Rape case in PGC campus 10 || PGC rape case‼️ Punjab college rape case campus 10 Girl Rape in PGC."

How were the protests planned?

Nukta tracked most of the Instagram channel interactions to last Friday and Saturday, when students urged each other to share posts about the alleged rape and began planning protests. The initial demonstration took place Monday morning, with girls gathering on the ground floor of PGC Campus 10 and boys rallying outside.

Students coordinated protests in existing WhatsApp groups for different PGC classes. Students alleged that teachers began deleting their messages in these groups.

According to the students, the protests turned violent when guards and teachers reportedly pushed students and used “foul” language.

The demonstrations then spread to other PGC campuses in Lahore; both inside and outside the facilities, particularly Campus 8 near Muslim Town Flyover.

After Punjab College guards used batons against the protesters, some students retaliated by throwing stones at campus buildings and breaking glass doors. Clashes with police ensued, resulting in injuries to at least 28 students in Lahore on Monday alone.

On Tuesday, protests continued at multiple locations, including outside Campus 8, the Punjab Assembly, and Zahoor Ilahi Road. Police were deployed in large numbers at all these sites.

What are the police doing?

Punjab police arrested the alleged attacker, identified as security guard Aun, on October 13 (Sunday). The suspect had fled after the incident was reported on social media. The DIG Operations confirmed in a press conference that police apprehended the guard within 10 hours of the incident in Sargodha.

Nukta identified multiple videos on social media showing police officials urging students on Monday morning to come forward with any evidence, information about the girl, or relevant contacts, even anonymously.

In a press conference on October 14, DIG Operations Faisal Kamran assured that Lahore police wouldn't conceal any such incident but stated they had no victim based on whose complaint they could lodge an FIR. He asserted that in case any credible information or complainant came forward, he would file an FIR right away, and requested students, parents, and the public to provide any verified information.

Punjab Police's first social media post on October 14 featured ASP Defense Shehrbano Naqvi urging people to verify news and trust the police investigation. She stated that misinformation spread on various platforms led to a law-and-order situation in Lahore.

At 10:38 p.m. on October 14, Punjab Police posted a video across social media platforms featuring Naqvi with the father and paternal uncle of a student from Campus 10. Naqvi declared the incident misinformation, while the uncle stated their daughter had fallen at home on October 2 and was admitted to Ittefaq Hospital on October 4 due to serious backbone injuries.

Naqvi reiterated that an FIR could be lodged based on credible information, but a victim or proof of the incident was necessary. Meanwhile, PGC students began claiming on social media that the mentioned girl and the alleged victim were different individuals.

Girl's father, uncle vehemently deny spread of false information

On October 15 at 10:04 a.m., Naqvi once again asserted in another video that the law-and-order situation in Lahore was based on misinformation. She said, “We are standing in a government hospital right now, and we have checked records at not only this hospital but at a private hospital too which is being mentioned on social media, and no record of admission of a patient who was raped could be found.”

She noted that the private hospital in question doesn't handle medicolegal cases and appealed to students not to jeopardize their and the nation's future.

Finally, on October 15 at 2:34 pm, Punjab Police once again posted across social media platforms, urging any citizen with information about the case to come forward, assuring confidentiality.

Where does the government stand?

On Monday evening, the Punjab government formed a high-powered committee to investigate the alleged assault at PGC Campus 10. The committee's initial findings, revealed on Tuesday evening, rejected claims of any form of assault at the campus.

A Punjab government circular notifying the formation of a high-powered fact-finding committee.Government of Punjab

Led by Punjab's Secretary of Interior, the committee visited the home of the alleged victim, interviewing the girl and her parents for three hours. They also recorded statements from 36 individuals, including Lahore DIG Operations Faisal Kamran, college principal Dr. Saadia Javed, security personnel, and students as part of a comprehensive investigation.

On Monday, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikander visited the campus and told the media that CCTV videos at the campus had been deleted. This alarming claim spread like wildfire, despite police assertions that they had access to a month's worth of CCTV footage and nothing had been deleted. Sikander also revoked the registration of Campus 10.

- YouTubeyoutube.com

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari maintained on Monday and Tuesday that the opposition had spread this propaganda to impact the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad and incite students.

On Tuesday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) established a seven-member committee after the girl's family and the college administration requested cases be filed under cybercrime law. An FIR has also been registered under Pakistan Electronics Crime Act 2016, in this regard.

Maryam Nawaz blames PTI

During a press conference today, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz stated that no evidence was found regarding the rape allegations and ordered a crackdown on those spreading fake news, "regardless of whether they belong to the PTI or Chaudhry Pervez Elahi's Q-League".

She accused the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of disseminating false information about the incident and inciting anarchy to damage the state, particularly during the SCO summit.

"I call them [PTI] a terrorist organization for a reason. Who will compensate for the loss that the child and her family suffered as a result of her name being used to spark unrest?" she questioned.

CM Maryam explained that authorities were still searching for the alleged victim. She revealed that the girl whose name was associated with the alleged rape had been undergoing treatment in the hospital since October 2 for an unrelated issue, and the accused guard was on vacation during the purported incident.

She further clarified that while the incident was reported on October 10, the alleged victim was not present at her college on that day. "First, a false story was created, and then a search was started for the victim. There were no eyewitnesses as the incident did not happen," she stated.

Addressing claims about the deleted CCTV footage, CM Maryam reiterated, "It was [falsely] claimed that the CCTV footage of the incident had been deleted. A fabricated story was created, followed by a search for a non-existent victim. [In reality] there were no eyewitnesses as the incident did not happen."

Additional research by Sheraz Khan