KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of the province to ensure the removal of objectionable videos from the Internet, including social media, showing a Hindu teenage boy being sexually assaulted in the Sujawal district.
The directives came during a hearing of a petition of rights activist Karamat Ali and others seeking the registration of an FIR against a lawmaker’s son and other men who sodomised the boy, Prakash, in the Darro area.
The petitioners submitted that Arbab Abrahim Memon, who is the son of MNA Arbab Rameezuddin Memon from Sujawal, along with his accomplices, had sexually assaulted the boy and uploaded a video on social networking sites.
They said the incident was reported in the print and electronic media, but no action had been taken against the culprits. The court was requested to provide protection to the victim and his family and direct the police to register an FIR.
After the preliminary hearing of the petition, the high court issued notices to the additional advocate general of Sindh and other respondents and sought their comments. The court directed the SSP Sujawal to ensure that a statement of the victim was recorded within a day under Section 154 of the CrPC. The court ordered that the compliance report be filed before the next date of the hearing.
The petitioners’ counsel, Shahid Hussain Soomro, stated that the video clip having objectionable material had become viral on social media. He sought an order for its removal.
The court observed that no one could be allowed to defame and disgrace the honour and respect of any person. It directed the FIA DG to ensure that the video clip was not flashed on social media and was removed forthwith. The hearing was adjourned till April 10.
A day earlier, showing their concerns over reports of the gang rape of Prakash, civil society activists demanded of the government to immediately arrest the culprits.
