The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the Gujranwala Regional Police Officer (RPO) to submit a report by June 23 regarding a contempt petition filed against senior police officials. The petition accuses the Punjab Inspector General (IG), the Gujranwala City Police Officer (CPO), and the Gujranwala RPO of publicly humiliating arrested youths by shaving their heads and circulating videos on social media.
Court Proceedings
Justice Ali Zia Bajwa presided over the hearing of the petition, which was filed by Muhammad Umar and represented by Advocate Ahmad Sher Jutt. During the proceedings, the petitioner's counsel argued that despite clear directives from the LHC prohibiting the release of videos of individuals in police custody on social media, the Gujranwala police allegedly arrested several youths, shaved their heads, and allowed videos of the incident to go viral. This, he contended, constituted a direct violation of the court's orders.
Government's Response
The government's law officer denied the allegations, stating that the police had not uploaded any such video on official social media platforms. He suggested that the individuals might have shaved their heads themselves as a fashion trend and later circulated the videos on their own.
Questioning this stance, Justice Bajwa asked whether the Gujranwala police had indeed shaved the heads of the arrested youths. The judge directed the law officer to gather complete facts and submit a comprehensive report to the court.
Next Hearing
After the proceedings, the court sought a report from the Gujranwala RPO by June 23 and adjourned the further hearing of the contempt petition until that date.
