Lahore police have arrested a man accused of physically assaulting a girl riding a scooty after a dispute over overtaking on Mozang Link Road, in an incident that drew strong condemnation from the Punjab government.
The suspect, identified as Ghulam Mustafa, was traced and arrested with the help of his motorcycle’s registration number. According to police, the incident took place on Mozang Link Road, where the suspect allegedly overtook the girl, stopped her, and physically assaulted her in public.
The first information report states that the man pulled the girl’s hair, verbally abused her, and harassed her in public. He also allegedly snatched her bag and threw it to the ground, damaging a laptop worth Rs. 50,000. The girl sustained facial injuries, and her nasal bone was reportedly affected during the assault.
CCTV footage of the incident has also emerged. It shows the motorcyclist stopping the girl before allegedly grabbing her and throwing her to the ground. Bystanders intervened and helped rescue her, and police said officers reached the scene after receiving information through the emergency helpline 15.
Initially, a case was registered against an unidentified suspect on the complaint of the victim’s father. Lahore’s Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) took notice of the incident and directed officers to arrest the suspect immediately. Police subsequently registered a case at Mozang Police Station and initiated further legal proceedings against Ghulam Mustafa.
Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari also addressed the incident in a statement posted on X. She said Lahore police arrested the suspect during the night, and added that women and children are Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s “red line,” stressing that such behavior would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
The case has reignited debate over women’s safety on Lahore’s roads. The scooty has become a symbol of independence for working women and students across the city, and incidents like the Mozang assault strike at that freedom. With the suspect in custody and the FIR underway, the victim’s family and women’s rights advocates will now be watching how swiftly the case moves through the courts.
