Case against Salman Farooqui fell into a viral assault incident

The Karachi police have closed the case against Salman Farooqui, who had been nominated in a assault case that involved a young man in the commercial area of Ittehad of the Defense Housing Authority (DHA).

The incident had caused generalized indignation after the video images of the altercation became viral on social networks last month.

During a recent hearing at the Southern Judicial Magistrates Court, the Police informed the Court that the case had been officially withdrawn. Gizri police presented a “class C” report, indicating that the matter is no longer prosecuted.

According to the report, the plaintiff, Dheeraj aka Dhanraj, declared in a written affidavit that he does not want to follow legal actions and that neither his nor his sister faced any misconduct by the accused. The affidavit led to the fall of all charges, including criminal intimidation and threats to kill.

The court accepted the police report in the registry and postponed the procedures.

Farooqui had been initially arrested for assaulting a motorcyclist after a traffic dispute over Khayaban-E-Ittehad. The viral video showed Farooqui physically attacking the rider in front of the victim’s sisters, despite his repeated pleas to stop.

The footage triggered a violent reaction online and led to the registration of a case against Farooqui and coacted Owais Hashmi at the Gizri police station. With the plaintiff retracting his statement and the charges fell, the authorities have now closed the case.