KARACHI: Tensions escalated in Karachi following an alleged assault on YouTuber Rajab Butt during a court appearance, as police registered a fresh case against several lawyers for allegedly attacking the Station House Officer (SHO) of the City Court police station during subsequent protests.
The situation deteriorated after lawyers protested the registration of a case over the alleged beating of Rajab Butt inside the court premises. On Wednesday, a First Information Report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn, was registered on the complaint of City Court SHO Jahangir Bhutto, accusing lawyers of manhandling him and disrupting official duties.
Earlier, more than a dozen lawyers were booked on Monday for allegedly assaulting YouTuber Rajab Butt during his court appearance. The FIR named Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi, Advocate Abdul Fatah Chandio, and 15 to 20 unidentified lawyers.
In response, protesting lawyers stormed the City Court police station and demanded that cases also be registered against the YouTuber and others. They later staged a protest outside the City Court on MA Jinnah Road, accusing the SHO of deliberately refusing to register their complaint.
According to the newly registered FIR, the case has been lodged under sections 337-A (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 186 (obstructing a public servant), 149 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from duty) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
SHO Jahangir Bhutto stated that on December 30, while on patrol, he received information that around 40 to 50 lawyers—led by Abdul Fatah Chandio, Advocate Abdul Wahab Rajpar, and Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi—had forcibly entered a police post temporarily set up within the City Court premises and started creating a disturbance.
He said the lawyers were demanding the registration of an FIR against Rajab Butt and his counsel. When he arrived at the police station around 2pm, the lawyers questioned him over allowing a case to be registered against them.
“I tried to explain that a case had already been registered in the matter, but they lost their temper, hurled abuses, and physically assaulted me with kicks and punches,” the SHO alleged. He added that police personnel intervened, after which the lawyers left the premises but continued chanting slogans and issuing death threats.
The FIR names Abdul Fatah Chandio, Abdul Wahab Rajpar, and Riaz Ali Solangi, while 40 to 50 others have been listed as unidentified suspects.
It is noteworthy that Riaz Ali Solangi is also nominated in the earlier FIR registered on the complaint of Rajab Butt’s lawyer. He is also the complainant in a separate case filed against the YouTuber for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, for which Rajab Butt appeared before the court on Monday.
Meanwhile, Rajab Butt’s counsel, Mian Ali Ashfaq, has also registered an FIR against Riaz Ali Solangi, Abdul Fatah Chandio, and 15 to 20 other lawyers under sections 147, 148, 382, 506, and 337-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to this FIR, Rajab Butt reached the City Court at around 9am to seek bail. As soon as he entered the inner premises near the West Building, he was allegedly attacked and beaten by Solangi, Chandio, and other lawyers, leaving him injured. Ashfaq claimed that he and other lawyers from his office were also assaulted during the incident.
The FIR further alleged that Rajab Butt was carrying a bag containing Rs300,000 in cash at the time of the attack, which was forcibly taken. Although the bag was later returned by Solangi, the cash was allegedly missing.
Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi stated that after securing interim bail on December 20, the YouTuber uploaded a vlog using offensive language against Karachi’s lawyers. He claimed that following the altercation, Rajab Butt was taken to the Karachi Bar Association’s committee room, where he apologized to the lawyers.