Man arrested for roaming streets dressed as werewolf to scare people on New Year’s Eve in Pakistan

The man was allegedly making roaring noises to scare people passing by

A man in Peshawar dressed as a werewolf to scare people  (Twitter/Zarak Khan)

Police in Pakistan have detained a man who was riding through city streets dressed as a werewolf to scare people on New Year's Eve.

The man is a resident of Peshawar city’s Moti neighbourhood and was detained by Shah Qabool police for allegedly making roaring noises at people while riding his motorcycle, a report by Pakistan’s Samaa News stated.

The city police has filed an initial chargesheet against the individual, who has not yet been identified, and say they are investigating his motives for the act.

Pictures of the man, posing with the police in one and riding his motorcycle in the other, attracted a mixture of reactions on social media. Journalist Omar R Quraishi posted one of the pictures on Twitter, where the man can be seen standing with handcuffs next to two police officers, still wearing his full-face werewolf mask.

Several people pointed out the irony of police detaining a man for wearing a face covering when this is required under Covid-19 regulations. According to Samaa News, the photos were also being widely circulated among Peshawar residents on WhatsApp.

The photos of the man dressed as a werewolf have gone viral  (Twitter/Zarak Khan)

A Twitter user “Meh” said: "People get scared of the dude and don't come out on new year during Covid times, everyone stays safe. Isn't this a good thing?”

Another user, Surya, said: “Maybe he didn't want to take risk in such epidemic. That mask is a foolproof weapon for fighting against Covid-19."

Mira Naik wrote: “Actually what he's wearing is better than PPE gear. It would've kept people away & him safe from covid.”