SIALKOT: After a 15-year-old boy was found murdered at a local seminary on Monday, police arrested three clerics of the religious school for killing the boy after subjecting him to rape.

The body of victim Abdul Rehman was found in a pool of blood in the courtyard of the mosque-cum-seminary, Madressah Jamia Masjid Pir Mehar Ali Shah, located in Islamnagar locality, by his fellow students when they woke up early morning for Fajr prayers.

The prime suspect, Qari Abdul Hameed alias Chishti and his alleged accomplices -- Qari Samiullah and Qari Muhammad Khalil -- who had escaped after committing the heinous crime were later arrested, District Police Officer Rai Ejaz Ahmed told Dawn.

The DPO said the victim, a student of the seminary, was brutally murdered after rape by his three teachers.

He said though the autopsy report was awaited, the forensic evidence and condition of the victim’s body showed he was murdered with a sharp-edged weapon after rape.

Mr Ahmad added Muradpur police sealed the seminary after the incident and registered a case against the three suspects on the complaint of victim’s father Bahadur Khan.

Khan told police his son was assaulted by the three suspects on Sunday night and then murdered.

According to some locals and students of the seminary, the victim also used to work as domestic help at the house of Qari Abdul Hameed and was not happy with the task.

The cleric did not enjoy a good reputation in the area, some of the seminary students told Dawn, seeking anonymity.

Later, some other students of the seminary told the police investigators that the three suspects had also tried to molest them a few days ago.

PROTEST: The incident sparked a protest by locals who besieged the seminary following the incident.

The protesters staged a demonstration and a sit-in, placing the victim’s body in front of Muradpur police station on the main Sialkot-Head Marala Road, throwing traffic out of gear for about one-and-a-half hours by burning tyres. After dispersing the protesters, police shifted the body to the Government Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital for autopsy.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2015

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