Abuzar Madhu, an artist from Pakistan was looking for a rickshaw at 3 AM when he was arrested by the Punjab Police, Lahore earlier this month.
The reason being? His hair was too long. Yep, this is why he spent a night in jail in Model Town police station.
Details of which, his friend Natasha Javed has shared on Twitter.
Abuzar who is an artist and a teacher was approached by the police when he was on the road.
Reportedly, he even showed his documents when asked but was ‘forced’ to sit in the van. When he asked for the reason, he was told it was because of his ‘hulia, lambe baal‘ and also the fact that he was out on the road at 3 AM.
His bag was checked at the station and he was made to spend the night there as they wanted to teach him a lesson for his hair and appearance.
He reached out to people on Facebook for legal help before his phone was taken away. His friends could only reach to his rescue the next day. Although he is out now.
‘Hair’ we are, so much time has passed and people are still suffering at the hands of police brutality and harassment.
Angered by the whole situation, Natasha spoke against people misusing their power.
You can find the whole thread here.
A few students of his along with others also came out in support of the artist.
Sigh, how dire are times.