FIR filed under five sections of Pakistan Penal Code.
Interior ministry, top officials took immediate notice.
SUV impounded; suspect detained at Gizri police station.
KARACHI: The number of arrests in the DHA assault incident rose to four on Monday after Karachi police apprehended a second suspect seen assaulting a young motorcyclist in viral video footage.
According to police, the second individual was identified using CCTV evidence and taken into custody a day after the arrest of prime suspect Salman Farooqi.
“This individual can also be seen attacking the victim in the video,” officials said. Farooqi’s guard and driver had earlier been arrested as well, bringing the total number of arrests to four.
The case, which has drawn widespread public outrage, was registered at Gizri police station on the complaint of an eyewitness named Saleem. He said that a minor collision took place on May 31 between an SUV and a motorcycle near Ittehad Commercial in DHA Phase VI.
Following the accident, an apology was also offered by the motorcyclist and his sisters.
Farooqi allegedly ordered his associates to forcibly detain the motorcyclist inside his vehicle, where he was beaten, threatened at gunpoint, and humiliated. The victim’s sister, who was present, was also reportedly shoved despite her pleas.
Several bystanders recorded the incident, and videos soon went viral online, prompting immediate notice from SSP South and the interior minister. DIG South Syed Asad Raza confirmed that Farooqi was arrested and placed in custody at Gizri police station.
His vehicle has also been impounded. The DIG clarified that the suspect is not a government official, dismissing reports of initial inaction by police. “No one is above the law. The matter is being taken very seriously. The victim will receive full justice.”
Karachi Police Chief, Additional IG Javed Alam Odho, also directed South District SSP to ensure swift arrest and legal proceedings against all those involved.
The FIR has been lodged under Sections 506-B, 354, 342, 34, and 504 of the Pakistan Penal Code for criminal intimidation, assault on modesty, wrongful confinement, common intention, and intentional insult.
Authorities had earlier reported difficulty in locating the victim and his family, believed to reside in the Ranchore Line area.
However, Geo News has traced the affected family, including the victim, Sudheer, who spoke to the channel about the ordeal, shedding further light on the incident.
“My sister works at an office in Defence,” said Sudheer. “I was going to pick up both sisters from Khayaban-e-Ittehad.
He said the collision with the car occurred as he approached his sisters. After which, a man from the car began to physically assault him.
Sudheer added that he continued to apologise, but the assault did not stop. He said a nearby man forced him into the car at gunpoint, where the armed individual subjected him to further severe torture.
According to Sudheer, his sisters pleaded with Salman Farooqi and the other man to let him go, but it was only after a prolonged and violent ordeal that he was finally released, having been threatened and beaten.