“Our lives have totally changed. We can never be the same afterwards … and it’s very painful,” lamented Nida Javed while talking to a private news channel.

She was discussing the reaction to her videos, which had gone viral on social media. The videos were recorded by cops inside a police station after she was arrested on April 4, from what police described as an illegal rave party in Kasur. Javed, a social media influencer, claimed it was a music concert.

The 55 men and women arrested from the event were brought to the Mustafabad police station, where videos were recorded with their faces clearly visible and uploaded to social media.

Faced with criticism over the unlawful action, Kasur District Police Officer Essa Khan Sukhera suspended five cops for allegedly filming and posting the videos. At least one of the suspended personnel was also accused of tipping off the organisers about the raid and allowing them to escape.

The incident subsequently drew the ire of the Lahore High Court, which reprimanded the police for violating the law and sought a report from the Punjab police chief regarding the force’s use of social media.

Common practice

Punjab Police rules explicitly prohibit officers from recording videos that might reveal the identity of suspects and under-trial prisoners.

In 2020, Punjab Police issued a policy for the use of social media by its officers. “No police personnel shall share anything in violation of the legal provisions dictating the anonymity of arrested accused, anonymity of police personnel involved in a police operation or investigation and confidentiality of investigations,” the policy states.

Despite clear guidelines, videos of accused and suspects are recorded in police stations across Punjab with their faces clearly visible.

An analysis by Dawn found that while these videos are not posted to official social media accounts, they still find their way online, often uploaded by anonymous accounts, local crime reporters and small news outlets.

Dawn found several videos online which were recorded inside police stations prominently featuring local police officers alongside the suspects, whose faces were clearly identifiable.

More than 50 such videos have been posted to multiple TikTok accounts and Facebook pages since 2021. These videos were reportedly recorded inside police stations in Rawalpindi, Attock, Mailsi, Hattian, Sialkot, Lahore, Fateh Jung, Vehari, Kahror Pakka, Nankana Sahib, Jhelum, Sahiwal, Gujar Khan and Sargodha.

A Punjab Police spokesperson told Dawn that the department has a strict policy against recording interviews and videos of under-trial prisoners.

“We don’t allow interviews of under-trial prisoners,” said Syed Mubashar Hussain of the department’s Directorate of Public Relations.

He said any officer who violates this policy faces departmental action.

‘Nexus’

Lawyers and crime reporters told Dawn that these videos are recorded by police officers and then disseminated for personal projection.

Two Lahore-based crime reporters, who wished not to be named since they regularly seek information from the police, said station-level officials — constables and SHOs — usually record and circulate these videos “to showcase their performance and garner public support for their actions”.

A crime reporter who shared several videos of accused persons recorded inside police stations on TikTok told Dawn that they “receive press releases from police” which they post online.

“When police arrest a gang, they especially request us [for coverage].”

According to Advocate Vishal Ahmed Shakir, there is a nexus between police officers and reporters, where either the cops call reporters for their own publicity or the reporters pay police officials to record interviews of under-custody prisoners.

In 2023, Shakir filed a public interest litigation in the LHC against the airing of interviews of inmates in custody.

Justice Ali Zia Bajwa, who heard the petition, ordered the police not to facilitate actions that violated the right to privacy, dignity and respect of citizens.

Procedural violations

Tariq Khosa, a former top police officer, said these videos not only violate the law but also orders issued by provincial police chiefs.

However, the procedural violations do not begin with the recording of these videos. According to Mr Khosa, in most cases, suspects are arrested without due process.

“No person can be arrested unless enough evidence is available on record. An arrest can’t be made on a mere report without investigation or verification,” said Mr Khosa, who has served as the Balochistan inspector general of Police and FIA director-general.

Even after the arrest, he pointed out, videos of suspects can only be recorded during interrogation to submit as evidence in court. Those videos too have to be recorded in the presence of a witness — a second police officer or any other person — and with the suspect’s consent.

Shakir, the advocate, said these videos have a detrimental impact on trials. An accused, during an interview, may confess to the crime out of fear of torture by police, but during their testimony before a judge, they retract the confession, citing duress.

‘Harm to dignity’

Most videos posted on social media included suspects arrested for gambling, flying kites, smoking sheesha and prostitution — crimes that infrequently result in conviction, according to Shakir.

He cited the example of the Kasur incident, where the arrested men and women were released by the court on the first hearing.

“Reason being the process wasn’t correct, recoveries weren’t correct, and their [the accused’s] statements weren’t recorded,” he said, citing procedural lapses, an assertion denied by the police.

At least 27 videos seen by Dawn included women suspects with their faces clearly visible. The men and women were said to be arrested during alleged raids on parties, hotels, brothels and even massage centres and charged with prostitution and obscenity.

These videos put women at greater risk when they go back into society after getting bail or an acquittal, which is the result of 90 per cent of prostitution cases, according to Shakir. He added that most accused are discharged on the first hearing since prostitution can only be proven when there is an exchange of money.

Mr Khosa, the former police chief, also pointed out the weak foundations of these cases. He said police can proceed under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Obscenity) only if an immoral act is done in a public space. In cases involving women, he said, such videos are used for blackmail and extortion. “It is all an ulterior motive.”

For Shakir, these videos cause irreparable damage to a person’s dignity. They also violate Article 14 of the Constitution, which says the dignity of a person is “inviolable”.

He added that courts have repeatedly upheld the notion that an acquittal is akin to never having committed the crime. “These videos mean even after acquittal, my reputation and dignity in society can not be repaired.”

Header image: These screen grabs from videos recorded inside police stations and posted on social media clearly showed the faces of accused persons. Dawn blurred the faces.