MULTAN, Sept 13: Yazman police on Friday registered a case against a seminary in-charge who deprived a student of his power of speech in Bahawalpur.

The police have registered the case on the report of victim Hafiz Abdul Qadoos, 18, under sections 336 and 506 PPC.

Yazman police in-charge said the complainant revealed his enmity with his teacher Qari Bashir Ahmad as the cause of the offence. SHO Mian Noor Muhammad said the victim told him that he and the Qari had been involved in brawls previously and sometimes he (the victim) gave him a thrashing over which he (Qari) had developed a grudge.

On Sept 2 last, he said the Qari overpowered him and injured his tongue with a sharp weapon and threatened him with dire consequences, if he let the cat out of bag.

Meanwhile, the matter was reported in a couple of Urdu dailies. When contacted, Bahawalpur police chief Sikandar Hayat said when he read the news in a Lahore’s daily, he directed the Yazman police to go into the matter.

He said victim’s father Haq Nawaz, who was also a ‘pesh imam’ when contacted by police, denied that Qari Bashir had deprived his son of the power of speech. Instead, he claimed Qadoos had himself injured his tongue. His father gave the statement also in black and white to the police.

The Bahawalpur DPO said police could not initiate a case when the victim’s family showed no interest in getting the case lodged.

When asked about the newspaper reports that claimed act of sodomy committed to Qadoos by the Qari and later the accused injured his tongue to silence him, Mr Hayat iterated the family was denying this also.

It is learnt that after refusal by his father, Qadoos decided on his own on Friday to report the incident with the police. Officials at Yazman police station told that the victim had given his written statement as he was unable to speak.

However, some of the area people had claimed that Qadoos was first sodomised by the Qari and then he (Qari) injured the young man’s tongue to hide his crime. Police have yet to arrest Qari.