Four booked after youth runs naked on road in Gujrat over bet

GUJRAT: Police have registered a case against four people, including a young man who allegedly ran naked for 100 feet on the main Sargodha Road in Gojra in broad daylight after being challenged to do so for a Rs5,000 bet.

According to the first information report, the incident took place on May 18 and a video of it later spread on social media. Dawn reported that the Mandi Bahauddin district police officer took notice of the matter and ordered the registration of a case against the suspects.

Case registered on police complaint

The FIR was lodged by Gojra police on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Ghulam Abbas Tahir. It states that Samar Hayat, a resident of Shahpur Saddar, was challenged by Ehsan, who is also from the same area, along with two unidentified men, to run naked at Qainchi Chowk and cover a distance of 100 feet in order to win Rs5,000.

Police said Samar accepted the challenge and ran naked on the road. The FIR further states that the act was filmed by an unidentified person using a mobile phone camera and the footage was later uploaded to social media platforms, where it went viral.

Charges included obscenity and gambling provisions

According to the police case, the incident caused mental distress and hurt public sentiments. The four suspects named or described in the FIR include Samar, Ehsan and two unidentified persons.

Police have booked them under sections 294, 509, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The case also includes sections 5 and 7 of the Punjab Prevention of Gambling Ordinance 1978.

The offences cited in the case include public obscenity, outraging public modesty, abetment and gambling-related betting. Police are conducting raids to arrest the suspects.

The incident occurred on a busy road in Gojra and drew official attention after the video circulated online. The registration of the case followed directions from the district police officer after the footage came to notice.

No direct statement from the accused was included in the report. The case, as described in the FIR, centres on the alleged public act, the wager said to have prompted it, and the recording and circulation of the video on social media.