LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif shared a video showing a petrol station worker slapping a man in police custody after his arrest over an alleged assault on the employee in Jubilee Town.
Police said the confrontation began when the worker asked the man to stop smoking because of the fire risk at the petrol station. He allegedly assaulted and threatened the employee before leaving.
Investigators traced the vehicle involved and discovered that it was rented. Rental records and receipts subsequently helped them identify the suspect, according to Lahore’s deputy inspector general of police for operations.
Officers registered a case on the employee’s complaint and arrested the man during a police operation. Police accused him of resisting arrest and claimed to have recovered a weapon from his possession.
Footage shared by Nawaz on X showed the arrest and the employee slapping the suspect after he was brought to the police station.
In her accompanying statement, Nawaz criticized people who treated poorer citizens as inferior and believed wealth or influence placed them above the law. “Justice is not a privilege reserved for the rich and powerful,” she wrote.
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She pledged to support victims regardless of the influence of those accused of mistreating them. Money, political connections and social standing should not allow anyone to escape accountability, she maintained.
Nawaz also argued that victims should not have to pursue justice alone because an accused person had greater resources or influence. Police are investigating the employee’s complaint.
