HRCP mission finds no 'credible evidence' to back allegation of student's rape at Lahore college

LAHORE: A fact-finding mission formed jointly by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and AGHS Legal Aid Cell said it found no “forensic evidence and credible testimonies” to back the widespread allegations that a student was sexually assaulted at a private college in Lahore.

“In the absence of forensic evidence and credible testimonies, the mission cannot conclusively establish whether the alleged rape occurred,” stated a fact-finding report issued by the HRCP.

Last month, reports related to the alleged rape of a private college student flooded the social media, prompting the police to arrest a security guard at the college. However, the suspect denied the allegations while the victim could not be identified or located.

Infuriated by the alleged incident, the students staged protests outside different colleges in Lahore, resulting in injuries to dozens of students. Demonstrations were also spread to other parts of Punjab, with the police arresting hundreds of students.

Later, the Lahore police registered a first information report (FIR) against the spread of misinformation and unverified news on social media.

The case was registered under section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, which deals with "offences against dignity of a natural person", while other charges include section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty); 500 (punishment for defamation); 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory); and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).

According to HRCP fact-finding report, it conducted a fact-finding mission in collaboration with AGHS Legal Aid Cell, which comprises journalist Fatima Razzaq, AGHS staff members Robina Shaheen, Qamar Ramay and Rahat Gull, and HRCP staff member Halima Azhar.

The mission’s Terms of References were: to investigate the facts and circumstances that led to the alleged incident and establish whether it occurred; assess the role of the police and/or any relevant government authority in investigating the alleged incident; Determine if any incidents of harassment and/or sexual abuse of any kind had been reported by students in the past against the alleged perpetrators or any other staff member at the college.

It noted a chain of events appears to have created acute suspicion and mistrust among students at a private college in Lahore.

“These events include a spate of social media content making unverified claims of rape, contradictory statements by government representatives (who initially endorsed the claims and then denied them), and the delayed, ham-fisted response of the college administration to these allegations,” the report stated.

The mission strongly condemned the use of “disproportionate force” against hundreds of students at the college on Oct 14, who had launched a mass protest demanding 'justice' for the alleged victim of rape.

“However, the hyper-engagement of online spaces points to evidence of other parties who attempted to hijack the students’ narrative and use it to amplify their own outreach on social media,” the commission observed.

It further observed that students’ response underlines their serious dissatisfaction with the state of security on campuses and perceived frequency of sexual harassment and victim blaming.

“This was compounded by a seeming lack of motivation on the part of campus administrations to address the issue and a deep mistrust of the police and college administration.”

The mission believes that the intensity of students’ ire should not be discounted solely because of the apparent role of misinformation. At the same time, it noted, the damage wrought by “pervasive misinformation is grounds for strong, regular public campaigns on digital literacy and fact-checking”.

Among other recommendations, the mission suggested conducting a forensic investigation of the CCTV footage collected on the college over the first two weeks of October and holding the police accountable for violence against student protesters as well as for detaining a person accused of the alleged offence in the absence of an FIR against him.

The mission strongly believes, however, that concerns of harassment and sexual violence on campus must always be taken seriously and effective anti-harassment committees instituted on all campuses that can be accessed easily by students while respecting their right to confidentiality.