Punjab’s state counsel told the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday that students alleging the rape of a college student in Lahore “had no evidence” to support the claim.

Last week, reports related to the alleged rape of a private college 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 Lahore over the past few days, resulting in at least 28 being injured on Monday. Demonstrations also spread to other parts of Punjab, as the police arrested more than 380 protesters against the alleged incident in Rawalpindi.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has declared that the alleged rape was “fabricated news”, blaming the PTI for spreading the “fake reports” on social media. Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) group Director Agha Tahir and other office-holders have also termed the incident “baseless”.

Faced with the double challenge of a possible agitation by the PTI and students’ protest today, the Punjab government has banned all public gatherings for two days as Section 144 has been imposed across the province.

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. It is usually imposed to prevent potential disturbances, maintain law and order, and curb any activities that might escalate into violence.

All public and private educational institutions across Punjab will also remain closed today.

LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum resumed hearing a petition filed earlier this week against the alleged harassment of female students in Punjab’s educational institutions.

Upon being summoned by the LHC, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IG) Dr Usman Anwar and Advocate General of Punjab Khalid Ishaq appeared before the court today.

“Every student is saying that the assault took place but no one had any evidence,” Ishaq told the court.

During the hearing, Justice Neelum censured the Punjab IG for not being able to stop videos on different matters from spreading, saying that it was his “failure” that students had taken to the streets.

The LHC chief justice then decided that the matter of harassment of students and a separate ongoing case of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari’s fake videos be clubbed together and heard by a full bench on October 22.

Separately, the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) carried out province-wide raids yesterday for the arrest of some senior journalists, lawyers, and TikTokers, arresting three of them for allegedly spreading false information on social media regarding the incident.

The case was registered in light of an inquiry conducted by the cyber crime wing of the FIA (Lahore) on the complaint of Punjab College for Women (Gulberg) Principal Sadia Yousuf.

The hearing

At the outset of the hearing, Justice Neelum asked IG Anwar, “Why were the videos not prevented from spreading [on social media]? Did you approach any authority to stop the videos [from being spread]?”

The Punjab police chief replied he had approached the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The chief justice then noted that the videos went viral on October 13 and 14, remarking: “You wake up when the fire has been set alight when everything has been burned.”

“Did you contact the relevant authorities very late?” she asked, to which the Punjab IG replied that more than 700 accounts were involved in sharing the videos. He stressed that the police “only have one agency to oversee cybercrime”.

“IG sahib, this is your failure that you let the children take to the streets,” Justice Neelum observed.

She asked the Punjab police chief to give an account of what the police did on October 14 and 15, noting that some videos were still present on the platforms of X and TikTok.

“The documents you have submitted [show] you did nothing for two days and started work on October 16,” the chief justice observed. “If there’s a will, all work gets done.”

In his defence, the Punjab IG contended that it was “not easy to stop the data from being uploaded”, highlighting that the police did not have the authority to do so.

“If we stop it from one account, it is reposted from another,” IG Anwar lamented.

Here, the chief justice asked the Punjab advocate general: “If something [unfortunate] had happened to the girls who took to the streets, who would have been responsible?”

The advocate general informed the court: “An Instagram post on October 12 said that the rape of a girl had taken place in a private college. The SSP (senior superintendent of police) reached the campus concerned the same day and began investigating.

“The first-year students have their own WhatsApp groups, which are not controlled by anyone. The Instagram post was shared in every group but no one knew what had happened,” he added.

At this point, the Punjab IG said that the police had identified more than 700 social media accounts. Upon his mentioning that even England “did not have the power to stop uploading” content, Justice Neelum told him to not state England as an example.

“We spoke to the interior ministry and wrote them letters,” IG Anwar highlighted, adding that the PTA had the authority to shut down accounts sharing the videos.

“We had started working according to the authority we have. We identified some accounts [but] they have not yet been deleted,” he contended.

Justice Neelum reiterated that all work could be done if there was “intention”, to which the police chief responded: “Of course, we had the intention.”

Here, the Punjab advocate general said the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of the area had met the principal of the alleged college and checked the CCTV footage.

“Every student is saying that the assault took place but no one had any evidence,” Ishaq told the court. He added that students from other campuses also reached the college and “everything happened in an organised manner”.

The lawyer recalled that CM Maryam had formed a special committee to probe the matter after the protesters turned to “vandalism”.

“No rape victim came forward till Monday,” Ishaq said adding that there were “rumours that the alleged rape took place on October 9 or 10”.

The advocate general stated that a girl received treatment at the Lahore General Hospital on October 2, and then went to a private hospital on October 4. The girl, he added, remained admitted in the hospital’s intensive care unit for five days.

“Since the girl was not coming to the college, someone claimed that they have found the rape victim. On the basis that she was not coming to college, she was linked with the rumour.”

“I can arrange your meeting with this girl if you say so,” Ishaq offered.

The advocate general then informed the court that a “man who calls himself a lawyer made a video referring to these girls”. The man was then acquitted from a case by a magistrate, he said.

Ishaq continued, “There is a new practice of acquittal from cases; whoever we arrest becomes a hero the next day.

“We may not be able to determine what is going to happen on Sunday,” he further said. The advocate general asserted: “We are not saying that it happened systematically, but opportunists took advantage of it when it did happen.”

The chief justice then decided that the current petition and Bokhari’s case regarding her fake videos be clubbed together and heard by a full bench.

“A full bench will hear these cases on Tuesday (October 22),” Justice Neelum said. A court order issued later said the bench would include her and Justices Farooq Haider and Ali Zia Bjawa.

She also issued directives to the FIA director general to probe the recent incidents and summoned him in person on the next hearing.

“As the issue at hand is sensitive and touches on the social issue of spreading fake news and relates to female students of colleges and universities, it must be handled with care and caution. The safety of female students is the prime consideration of this court. The investigating agencies are directed to complete their investigation using modern techniques without harassing anyone,” the order said.

It added: “If the FIA team needs to take/record statements of the students, the same should be taken in the presence of the vice-chancellor, registrar and her/their parents, and students should not be forced to make any statement without their will. If anyone has direct information and wants to make a statement or is aware of the facts relating to the above three cases, they can also appear before the authorities or FIA, and the authorities or FIA are bound to record the statement. It is also made clear that no one should be forced to make any statement.”

The hearing was adjourned till October 22.

Inquiry report findings

Meanwhile, the Punjab government’s seven-member inquiry committee, which was formed to probe the matter, submitted its report and concluded that no such incident occurred.

The committee report, available with Dawn.com, revealed that the news of the alleged rape was “fabricated and spread via fake social media accounts to create unrest and provoke a law-and-order situation”.

The investigation found that social media accounts were used to spread “false information, misleading innocent students into protests”.

The report noted the involvement of “malicious actors with vested interests who exploited the situation to advance political agendas”.

The committee expressed concern over the “manipulation of students” and the disruption caused by the “spread of disinformation”.

The inquiry highlighted the “psychological and social damage” inflicted on the alleged victim and her family, stating that the “fabricated news tarnished their reputation and caused immense trauma”.

The committee recommended that the government provide appropriate support to the affected family to alleviate its suffering.

The report criticised the college management for its failure to handle the situation professionally, citing a lack of proper systems and protocols to address such incidents.

The committee commended the police for its “prompt action in investigating the false news and securing evidence”. However, it suggested the police establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for handling similar incidents in educational institutions in the future.

The committee identified a pattern of “targeted disinformation aimed at destabilising public order”. It recommended that the Punjab government take stringent legal measures to address the misuse of social media platforms and prosecute those responsible for spreading false information.

The report urged the government to develop a framework to “combat disinformation, educate students about the dangers of fake news” and build the capacity of law enforcement to manage such situations without resorting to violence. It also called for further investigation into digital hate speech and terrorism.