Update: Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited one of the victims’ families on Sunday, and said the Punjab government would leave no stone unturned in providing justice to the victims and suspects would face the maximum punishment for the heinous crime. The district administration sealed the madrassa on Sunday.
“We are ashamed over this incident, but at the same time, it would be unfair to blame all seminaries. Reforms should be made to address this issue,” the chief minister said and maintained that his government would do what it could in this regard.
Chakwal police have obtained four days’ remand for the two teachers who have been arrested. “Fifteen students were brought to the hospital for medical examination. All of them carried knife and bite marks on their bodies,” Dr. Mohammad Haleem, the media coordinator of District Headquarters Hospital, told Dawn. He said the parents of nine victims had refused to proceed with the medical examination despite the fact that their children had complained of assault and knife and bite marks were also found on their bodies.
“We have also recovered a knife that suspects used to inflict cut marks on the bodies of students.” According to the FIR, the suspects wrote ‘Z’ on the victims’ bodies.
The DPO said that the management of the seminary was informed a month ago about the abuse.
“Instead of reporting the matter to police, the management settled it on its own by expelling the two suspects on November 11,” he said, adding that strict action would be taken against all those found involved in the offence.
When asked about the parents who had refused to pursue the case, the DPO said all the victims would be made part of the investigation.
The victim’s father who took the matter to the police informed Dawn that his son wanted to be a Naat Khawan and that’s why he got him admitted to the madrassa. He went to meet the son and there the kid clung to him and started crying. “Had my son not told me, this heinous crime would never have come to light,” the father said.
The management of the seminary, while talking to the media on Saturday, said it would cooperate with the police.
Previously, Chakwal Police have registered an FIR against two teachers at a Madrassa for assaulting a 12-year-old boy, reports Geo.
The FIR states that the boy’s father observed that his son was extremely perturbed. Upon asking, the boy revealed that the two teachers have made marks with knives over the bodies of many children, including him.
A local hospital has also confirmed the presence of scars on the children.
The police has arrested one of the two teachers while search for the other is underway. Both the teachers are not locals of Chakwal.
