LAHORE: The Model Town police allegedly harassed, misbehaved and tortured female employees of a local club on the complaint of a PML-N MPA who accused them of stealing her jewelry.

The Model Town Club administration and the female staff alleged that the police team raided and tortured the female staff in the name of interrogation to please the female MPA of the ruling party in Punjab.

The club administration also released some video statements of the staff, strongly denying the allegations leveled by the PML-N MPA.

In the FIR Uzma Kardar lodged with the Model Town police station, she said that the incident occurred on Thursday when she visited the club as a member for swimming.

She said she used to visit there after the assembly session and on the day of the incident she placed her jewelry inside her purse and put it in the club locker.

After the swimming session, she found her jewelry worth over Rs400,000 stolen.

“Two maids and as many female instructors are key suspects as they were the only ones present there at that time”, reads the FIR lodged by the MPA.

The female staff alleged that the police visited the club and tortured them during interrogation. They were later taken to the police station where police misbehaved and humiliated them.

In their video statement, the female employees claimed that the politician had left the club after swimming and returned later. “She might have lost the jewelry somewhere outside the club,” the statement said.Model Town investigation SP Shahzad Rafique who is probing the matter, told Dawn the investigation was still underway.

“Apparently, it seems that the allegations leveled against the club staff are not true.”

Similarly, he said, there was no evidence of police torture of female staff.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024