PAKISTAN
TikToker held for false claims in Lahore college ‘rape case’
The Newspaper's Staff Reporter
Published November 1, 2024
DAWN
LAHORE: The Organised Crime Unit (OCU) of Lahore police on Thursday arrested a woman TikToker who had claimed to be the mother of the alleged ‘rape victim’ of Punjab College.
She was arrested on charges of making a false claim and inciting public sentiment against the government authorities, urging the people to mobilise for street demonstrations.
The OCU Model Town police acted following a case lodged against her with the Gulberg police station after the woman, Sara Khan, recorded a TikTok video and uploaded it on the social media which went viral, creating another round of controversy over the alleged rape case as the matter was already in the limelight, provoking the students for violent agitation.
OCU DIG Imran Kishwar told Dawn that a special police team arrested the woman on Thursday when she went to Lahore High Court to get bail in another case lodged against her by the cyber crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
He said the police teams were in search of the TikToker following a case registered against her on the complaint of Gulberg police sub-inspector Mohammad Imran under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) Act, 2016 and other charges. He said as Sara Khan was nominated in the FIR after the controversial video disseminated rapidly across social media platforms, showcasing the anonymous woman who posited an alarming assertion that the female student from the Punjab College, who allegedly fell victim to a heinous act of sexual assault, was her daughter.
During the investigation process, the DIG said, the woman was ascertained to be Sara Khan, a resident of Karachi with her permanent address in Multan.
Following the sensitivity of the matter, the Punjab government had formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to conduct the probe.
Model Town OCU SP Aftab Phularwan was the convener of the JIT while other members included DSP Faisal Shareef, woman inspector Fiza and one each representative from Intelligence Bureau and FIA.
Mr Kishwar said the arrested TikToker has been handed over to the JIT for further investigation.
Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2024
TikTok bandits terrorise, transfix Katcha lands
Online gangs lay “honey-traps” to lure and kidnap victims, parade hostages in clips, exhibit weapon arsenals.
AFP Published November 1, 2024
With a showman’s flair and an outlaw’s moustache, the Pakistani gangster dials the hotline on his own most wanted notice — taunting the authorities who put a bounty on his head.
Staring down the lens in a social media clip, Shahid Lund Baloch challenges the official on the phone and his thousands of viewers: “Do you know my circumstances or my reasons for taking up arms?”
The 28-year-old is hiding out in riverine terrain in central Punjab which has long offered refuge to bandits — using the internet to enthral citizens even as he preys on them, police say.
On TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram he fascinates tens of thousands with messages delivered gun-in-hand, romanticising his rural lifestyle and cultivating a reputation as a champion of the people.
But he is wanted for 28 cases including murder, abduction and attacks on police — with a 10 million rupee ($36,000) price on his head.
“People who are sitting on the outside think he is a hero, but the people here know he is no hero,” said Javed Dhillon, a former lawmaker for Rahim Yar Khan district close to the hideouts of Baloch, and other bandits like him.
“They have been at the receiving end of his cruelty and violence.”
Online gangs lay “honey-traps” to lure and kidnap victims, parade hostages in clips, exhibit weapon arsenals.
AFP Published November 1, 2024
With a showman’s flair and an outlaw’s moustache, the Pakistani gangster dials the hotline on his own most wanted notice — taunting the authorities who put a bounty on his head.
Staring down the lens in a social media clip, Shahid Lund Baloch challenges the official on the phone and his thousands of viewers: “Do you know my circumstances or my reasons for taking up arms?”
The 28-year-old is hiding out in riverine terrain in central Punjab which has long offered refuge to bandits — using the internet to enthral citizens even as he preys on them, police say.
On TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram he fascinates tens of thousands with messages delivered gun-in-hand, romanticising his rural lifestyle and cultivating a reputation as a champion of the people.
But he is wanted for 28 cases including murder, abduction and attacks on police — with a 10 million rupee ($36,000) price on his head.
“People who are sitting on the outside think he is a hero, but the people here know he is no hero,” said Javed Dhillon, a former lawmaker for Rahim Yar Khan district close to the hideouts of Baloch, and other bandits like him.
“They have been at the receiving end of his cruelty and violence.”
This photograph taken on October 9, 2024 shows elite police personnel patrolling on a sandy island along the Indus river, in the ‘Katcha lands’ at Rahim Yar Khan district. — Arif Ali / AFP
Backwater with bandwidth
Baloch is said to dwell on a sandy island in the “Katcha lands” — roughly translating as “backwaters” — on the Indus River which skewers from top to bottom.
High-standing crops provide cover for ambushes and the region is riven by shifting seasonal waterways that complicate pursuit over crimes ranging from kidnapping to highway robbery and smuggling.
At the intersection of three of the four provinces, gangs with hundreds of members have for decades capitalised on poor coordination between police forces by flitting across jurisdictions.
“The natural features of these lands support the criminals,” said senior police officer Naveed Wahla.
“They’ll hide out in a water turbine, move in boats, or through sugarcane crops.” Sweeping police operations and even an army incursion in 2016 failed to impose law and order. This August, a rocket attack on a police convoy killed 12 officers.
“In the current state of affairs here there is only fear and terror,” said Haq Nawaz, whose adult son was abducted late September for a five million rupee ransom he cannot afford.
“There is no one to look after our wellbeing,” he complains.
Backwater with bandwidth
Baloch is said to dwell on a sandy island in the “Katcha lands” — roughly translating as “backwaters” — on the Indus River which skewers from top to bottom.
High-standing crops provide cover for ambushes and the region is riven by shifting seasonal waterways that complicate pursuit over crimes ranging from kidnapping to highway robbery and smuggling.
At the intersection of three of the four provinces, gangs with hundreds of members have for decades capitalised on poor coordination between police forces by flitting across jurisdictions.
“The natural features of these lands support the criminals,” said senior police officer Naveed Wahla.
“They’ll hide out in a water turbine, move in boats, or through sugarcane crops.” Sweeping police operations and even an army incursion in 2016 failed to impose law and order. This August, a rocket attack on a police convoy killed 12 officers.
“In the current state of affairs here there is only fear and terror,” said Haq Nawaz, whose adult son was abducted late September for a five million rupee ransom he cannot afford.
“There is no one to look after our wellbeing,” he complains.
In this photograph taken on October 10, 2024, Haq Nawaz, whose adult son was abducted by bandits, speaks during an interview with AFP in Rahim Yar Khan district. — Ghulam Hassan Mahar / AFP
But the gangs are increasingly online.
Some use the web to lay “honey-traps” luring kidnap victims by impersonating romantic suitors, business partners and advertising cheap sales of tractors or cars.
Some parade hostages in clips for ransom or exhibit arsenals of heavy weapons in musical TikToks.
Baloch has by far the largest online profile — irking police with a combined 200,000 followers.
Rizwan Gondal, the head police officer of Rahim Yar Khan district, says that his detectives have a dossier proving his “heinous criminal activities”.
“Police have made multiple efforts to capture him however he escapes,” he added.
“He’s a very media savvy guy. Let him say, ‘I am going to surrender before the state to prove that I am innocent’ and let the media cover it.”
‘Beloved brother bandit’
In his clips Baloch protests his innocence whilst casting himself as a vigilante in a lawless land, claiming he chose to fight only after family members were slain in tribal clashes.
“We couldn’t get justice from the courts so I decided to pick up arms and started fighting with my enemies,” Baloch told AFP.
“They killed our people, we killed theirs.” But he also plays off the cycle of state neglect which breeds banditry and in turn relegates the destitute farming communities further to society’s fringes.
“The villagers here are not viewed as human but as animals,” Baloch told AFP.
“If they gave us schools, electricity, government hospitals and justice, why would anyone even think of taking up arms?” In comments sections his viewers call him “beloved brother bandit” and a “real hero”.
“You have won my heart,” claims another.
“He is popular in the mainstream because he is giving the police authorities a tough time,” said former lawmaker Dhillon.
“People like that he says the things they can’t say out loud against people they can’t speak out against.”
But the gangs are increasingly online.
Some use the web to lay “honey-traps” luring kidnap victims by impersonating romantic suitors, business partners and advertising cheap sales of tractors or cars.
Some parade hostages in clips for ransom or exhibit arsenals of heavy weapons in musical TikToks.
Baloch has by far the largest online profile — irking police with a combined 200,000 followers.
Rizwan Gondal, the head police officer of Rahim Yar Khan district, says that his detectives have a dossier proving his “heinous criminal activities”.
“Police have made multiple efforts to capture him however he escapes,” he added.
“He’s a very media savvy guy. Let him say, ‘I am going to surrender before the state to prove that I am innocent’ and let the media cover it.”
‘Beloved brother bandit’
In his clips Baloch protests his innocence whilst casting himself as a vigilante in a lawless land, claiming he chose to fight only after family members were slain in tribal clashes.
“We couldn’t get justice from the courts so I decided to pick up arms and started fighting with my enemies,” Baloch told AFP.
“They killed our people, we killed theirs.” But he also plays off the cycle of state neglect which breeds banditry and in turn relegates the destitute farming communities further to society’s fringes.
“The villagers here are not viewed as human but as animals,” Baloch told AFP.
“If they gave us schools, electricity, government hospitals and justice, why would anyone even think of taking up arms?” In comments sections his viewers call him “beloved brother bandit” and a “real hero”.
“You have won my heart,” claims another.
“He is popular in the mainstream because he is giving the police authorities a tough time,” said former lawmaker Dhillon.
“People like that he says the things they can’t say out loud against people they can’t speak out against.”
This photograph taken on October 9, 2024 shows an elite police personnel monitoring security at a post on a sandy island along the Indus river, in the ‘Katcha lands’ at Rahim Yar Khan district. — Arif Ali / AFP
Robbed of followers
Police have proposed countering bandits by downgrading mobile phone towers to 2G in the Katcha lands, preventing social media apps from loading.
That has not yet happened and would risk cutting communities off further still. But more low tech solutions have had some success.
An anti-honey trap police cell cautions citizens against the gangs with the help of billboards and loudspeakers at checkpoints entering the area, preventing 531 people from falling prey since last August, according to their data.
Baloch scoffs at police. But one problem plaguing his bid for online stardom has his attention.
Copycat social media accounts pretend to be him and share duplicates of his videos — earning thousands more followers and views than his legitimate accounts.
He feels robbed. “I don’t know what they are trying to achieve,” he complains. But for police, his internet hero status is at odds with the toll of his crimes.
“People will idealise Shahid Lund Baloch but when they ultimately get kidnapped by him, then they will realise who Shahid Lund Baloch really is,” said senior officer Wahla.
Header image: This photograph taken on October 9, 2024 shows elite police personnel patrolling on a sandy island along the Indus river, in the ‘Katcha lands’ at Rahim Yar Khan district. — Arif Ali / AFP
Robbed of followers
Police have proposed countering bandits by downgrading mobile phone towers to 2G in the Katcha lands, preventing social media apps from loading.
That has not yet happened and would risk cutting communities off further still. But more low tech solutions have had some success.
An anti-honey trap police cell cautions citizens against the gangs with the help of billboards and loudspeakers at checkpoints entering the area, preventing 531 people from falling prey since last August, according to their data.
Baloch scoffs at police. But one problem plaguing his bid for online stardom has his attention.
Copycat social media accounts pretend to be him and share duplicates of his videos — earning thousands more followers and views than his legitimate accounts.
He feels robbed. “I don’t know what they are trying to achieve,” he complains. But for police, his internet hero status is at odds with the toll of his crimes.
“People will idealise Shahid Lund Baloch but when they ultimately get kidnapped by him, then they will realise who Shahid Lund Baloch really is,” said senior officer Wahla.
Header image: This photograph taken on October 9, 2024 shows elite police personnel patrolling on a sandy island along the Indus river, in the ‘Katcha lands’ at Rahim Yar Khan district. — Arif Ali / AFP
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