Man arrested for harassing, groping woman in Karachi’s Samanabad: police

Karachi police on Friday arrested a man for sexually harassing and groping a woman in Karachi’s Samanabad area.

The incident, which was caught on CCTV camera, shows a man walking down a lane before he grabs a passerby woman.

The video sparked outrage on social media as people demanded the immediate arrest of the suspect.

In a statement released today, District Central Police said the suspect had been apprehended. “He hails from Bhingoria Goth, Azizabad area, and operates a mobile bakery service using his motorcycle,” it said.

“The suspect had abandoned his motorcycle at the crime scene before fleeing,” the statement said, adding that further investigation into the case was underway.

It further stated that a first information report of the incident was registered on behalf of the police.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, invokes sections 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

It said the incident occurred on Oct 5. The complainant stated in the FIR that the suspect was identified as Asif Ali, adding that the police arrested him on a tip-off.

In a similar incident earlier this month, a video began circulating on social media, showing a man on a motorcycle exposing himself to female university students on one of the city’s prominent roads. Subsequently, Sindh Inspector General (IG) of Police, Riffat Mukhtar, took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report on the matter.

Previously, a disturbing video clip of a man exposing himself and assaulting a woman in broad daylight in Gulistan-i-Jauhar had gone viral on social media in July, prompting the police to take notice.