ISLAMABAD: Parents resent delay in arrest of child abuser
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 3: The parents of the students, who have allegedly been abused by the principal of a private cadet college, held a demonstration in front of the parliament house on Wednesday and criticised the Islamabad police for their failure in arresting the accused.
The demonstration was organized by the Society for Human Rights and Prisoner Aid (SHARP) - an NGO. Talking to Dawn, Tayyab Akbar, father of a child victim, criticized the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police for paying little attention to a crime that had spoiled the life of his child.
"For us parents this is something very serious, and if the accused goes off scot-free, as he has in the past, we will not be able to face our children," he said with a heavy heart.
In response to a question, he said: "After registering an FIR and making the names of our children public, we have virtually put their lives at stake. If the accused is not punished, we might consider some other options," he added.
Mr Sarfaraz, brother of one of the victims, criticized the police handling of the case. He said an FIR had been lodged against the accused on February 26 and even after the arrival of the medical reports confirming molestation of the children, the police were yet to nose him out.
Mother of a child told this reporter that the only remedy for their continuous mental torture was the proper handling of the case so that the accused was punished.
A press release issued by the SHARP said the accused had abused 8 children in 1999 of which two cases had been filed against him with Golra police station but he was not brought to justice.
It asked the education minister to accept her responsibility in this regard and resign. Munawer Azeem adds: The Islamabad police have failed to trace Capt (retd) Sharjeel wanted in child molestation cases.
"We have raided two places but could not find the accused there. According to our information he has contacted his lawyer, Mr Arif. We are still searching for him," Sub-Inspector Ghulam Rasool of Golra police station told Dawn.
He said Mr Sharjeel, principal of the National Cadet College, F-11, had a history of child molestation and abuse and a number of cases had been registered against him since 1999. The investigation officer said the accused was on bail in a molestation case for the last two years.
Mr Rasool said two cases registered against him in 1999 under sections 377 and 373 of Pakistan Penal Court (PPC) were pending final adjudication in a court of law when he was released on bail.
Four cases were reported against Mr Sharjeel in 1999 under sections 420, 421, 377 and 373 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The charges included cheating and dishonesty, fraud, unnatural offences and child prostitution, Sub-Inspector Ghulam Rasool and Liaquat Banori, a lawyer for the children, said.
Mr Banori said in 1999 the civil court had sealed the college and district and sessions court and the Lahore High Court had rejected his bail appeal and remanded him in police custody for eight days.
The court released him in two cases (421 and 420) on December 12, 1999 and April 4, 2000, while a case under section 373 of PPC was yet to start. Mr Rasool and Liaquat Banori said in another case under section 377 of PPC Mr Sharjeel was on bail for the last two years when the additional judge, Safdar Hussain Malik, granted him bail.
