A woman who was allegedly assaulted during a scuffle between residents of two apartments in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase 6 approached a Karachi sessions court on Monday, seeking directions for registration of a first information report (FIR) against the other party.
A video of the altercation surfaced on social media last week. Three policemen are also facing disciplinary proceedings over their alleged involvement in the incident.
The woman’s lawyer, Advocate Muhammad Arif, told Dawn on Tuesday that he had moved the sessions court seeking directions for police to record his client’s statement under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and register an FIR against the alleged attackers.
The case was taken up by Sessions Court Judge Abdul Zahoor, who issued notices to the South SSP and Darakhshan SHO and directed them to submit their responses by Wednesday.
The petitioner named the Sindh government, Darakhshan SHO, Sub-Inspector Muhammad Imran, South Investigation Wing SSP and the woman accused of assaulting her as respondents.
In her petition, the woman alleged that the people involved in the attack were influential and claimed that police had failed to register a case despite her repeated requests. She pointed out that an FIR had already been registered against her in connection with the incident.
“The victims feel severely unsafe after the torture and the case,” the petition stated. The petitioner’s counsel also requested police protection for his clients.
Meanwhile, Advocate Arif said his client had filed a separate petition before the Sindh High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against her and her brother.
He said the court had been informed that an inquiry into the incident was underway and that the petitioners had joined the investigation. According to the counsel, the SHC had issued notices to the respondents, directed the authorities not to take further action against the petitioners and sought the inquiry report.
The CCTV footage of the incident shows a woman running down a staircase with a dumbbell before allegedly striking another woman, who is the petitioner in the latest case.
The footage also shows two people in what appear to be police uniforms restraining the woman who was allegedly assaulted. A man subsequently arrives at the scene and appears to argue with the woman carrying the dumbbell.
The woman and the man then enter what appears to be their apartment, after which the woman with the dumbbell and another man are seen banging on the door and allegedly using abusive language.
Towards the end of the footage, a man wearing a shalwar kameez is seen using a weapon handed to him by one of the uniformed individuals to damage the CCTV camera.
The FIR registered over the incident, however, gives a different account.
Registered at Darakhshan police station at 1:40am on August 21 on the complaint of a woman, the FIR invoked Sections 354, 504, 506, 337-A(i), 382 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza later said Section 382, relating to alleged theft of gold ornaments, had been removed from the FIR as the incident appeared to be a case of assault.
According to the FIR, the complainant, a resident of the fourth floor of an apartment building, alleged that a man, his sister and their mother, who lived on the third floor, came to her apartment and began kicking the door.
She alleged that the three family members abused her over a parking dispute and assaulted and threatened her after she opened the door.
Police subsequently arrived at the scene and took the brother and sister into custody, while their mother fled, according to the FIR.
