Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday dismissed “rumours spread on social media” related to the alleged on-campus rape of a student in Lahore, terming it a “fabricated story”.

Last week, news related to the alleged rape of the student went viral on social media, prompting the police to arrest a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved in the incident.

Enraged by the alleged incident, students mobilised on social media and staged protests outside different colleges in the city. During one of the protests, clashes broke out between the protesters and the security team of a college. Later on, police and students confronted each other, resulting in a total of 28 casualties.

Police said that while the arrested security guard was being interrogated, the victim could not be identified or located. Nobody from her family came forward to register a first information report (FIR), the police said, adding that CCTV footage of the college in question, together with hospital records had been checked but no cues could be found.

Meanwhile, a video featuring a girl began going viral on social media, with users claiming that she was the alleged rape victim. Taking notice of the viral video, Lahore’s Defence A police station registered an FIR related to the case, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com.

According to the FIR, when approached by the police, the parents of the girl in the viral video categorically denied any incident of rape, saying that their daughter had been hospitalised from October 2-11 following an injury from a fall at home. The parents of the girl maintained that making their daughter’s video go viral was a deliberate attempt to malign her reputation, the FIR said.

Addressing the issue in a press conference in Lahore today, the chief minister said that an issue was made out of an incident that “never existed in the first place”.

“The alleged rape incident was a fabricated story with no basis in reality,” CM Maryam said. “The girl [in the viral video] is not a rape victim, but a victim of bad politics and a conspiracy.”

Speaking about the student-led demonstration in the city against the alleged rape incident, she said that “some of the protesters were not even students. Our opposition party [PTI] launched them.

“Whoever was behind this, I will not spare them. Journalists and social media users, who provoked and incited the students, and disrespected the girl and her family, we have found their accounts,” she said. “There will be a crackdown against them.

“The problem is PTI, social media is not the problem. They use social media as it does not show their faces.”

CM Maryam revealed that the girl’s family approached her and requested that “those who fabricated this story be exposed.”

“Chaos is being spread across Punjab based on lies, especially during the SCO summit when foreign dignitaries are visiting Pakistan.”

Maryam said that a “plan was hatched” to mislead and instigate students through social media deliberately and accused the PTI of fueling the rumours and using them to its advantage.

Contesting the details of the case, the CM said, “The basement had no locks, Rescue 1122 never went despite their claims and even the ‘witness’ said she heard about the incident from someone else.

“I am not only a CM but I also represent women — this is my red line,” Maryam continued. “If a rape had happened, I would have acted before anyone said anything.”

In a later post on X, CM Maryam said the person “who propagated a blatant lie, incited violence and provoked the students has been arrested”.

She vowed that “as promised, I will not spare anyone who was part of the conspiracy and false propaganda that have gravely affected an innocent girl and her family alleging a rape that never happened.”

‘No eyewitnesses’

The chief minister added that there were no eyewitnesses “as the incident does not exist”. She introduced a girl sitting next to her whose video statement had gone viral on social media. In the video, the girl claimed that she was one of the witnesses of the incident.

“This girl is not even from the campus where the alleged incident occurred,” Maryam revealed. She added the clip was edited and that the so-called “eyewitness” had heard it from someone else, after which a teacher had asked her to talk to the media.

The girl stated, “They made me an eyewitness when I said that kids had heard it. I never said I heard it myself.”

Meanwhile, Maryam also introduced Dr Shabnam Gul, a professor at Lahore College Women’s University and the former head of the college’s harassment committee.

Maryam said, “Her video also went viral. She was removed from the harassment committee. According to her, students were not aware of the incident; they were instigated, and incited.”

Speaking during the presser, Dr Gul said, “I was called for an investigation as my video went viral. I was called to explain why I was inciting students.”

“I explained to them that I did not incite them, I tried to calm them down. I asked them why they were angry, and told them to go to the vice chancellor and discuss the problem,” she added.

She said, “When the strike erupted, it was not in my knowledge. My vice chancellor called me and told me to control the situation. Some students were involved without understanding the matter, and some, who were from outside, were angry over the issue, too. They were told to hold a strike over the matter.”

Concluding her remarks, the chief minister requested the Lahore High Court or any other high court to look into the matter.

“I request the courts to ensure that those involved in the rumour do not flee.”

‘The incident does not exist’: Punjab Group of Colleges

Senior directors of the Punjab Group of Colleges also said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that a student had been raped on campus after reports spread online sparked days of protests.

“The incident does not exist. I will resign and I will leave this profession and stand with the students if the incident took place,” Arif Chaudry, the director of the private Punjab Group of Colleges that runs the women’s college, told reporters.

Agha Tahir Ijaz, another of the group’s directors, told the same news conference: “We want the kids to understand that they should not believe misinformation.”

With additional input from AFP