Lahore Suspends Entire Police Station Staff After Alleged Custodial Rape
Authorities in Lahore suspended all 78 officers and staff at Ghaziabad police station after a woman alleged that an assistant sub-inspector raped her inside the station.
In short
- Authorities in Lahore suspended all 78 officers and staff at Ghaziabad police station after a woman alleged that an assistant sub-inspector raped her inside the station.
Police authorities in Lahore, Pakistan, suspended all 78 officers and staff assigned to Ghaziabad police station on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after a 20-year-old woman with learning disabilities alleged that an assistant sub-inspector raped her inside the station.
The accused officer was arrested and faces a criminal rape investigation. The allegation has not been adjudicated, and the suspect is entitled to due process.
Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police for Operations Faisal Kamran told The Guardian that every member of the station had a duty to prevent and report wrongdoing. He said staff failed to question why the officer had brought the woman into the station without a female officer present. The gender crime wing is investigating, he added.
The woman’s family said she disappeared from the street and later returned home distressed, reporting that she had been assaulted at the station.
The case has renewed scrutiny of police accountability and the barriers survivors face when reporting sexual violence in Pakistan. The Guardian cited official data showing more than 20,000 crimes against women were recorded in Punjab during the first half of 2026. Rights advocates say weak investigations, delays, stigma and low trust in law enforcement contribute to low conviction rates.
The mass suspension is an administrative action while investigators determine individual responsibility. It does not establish criminal guilt for the other suspended personnel.
