LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday remanded five men arrested in connection with the Kasur child abuse case to police custody for 28 days.

“Police produced the five men in an anti-terrorism court where the judge remanded them into police custody for further interrogation for 28 days,“ said Lahore court's prosecutor Sheikh Saeed.

Read: Kasur child abuse case: LHC CJ seeks report on inclusion of ATA clauses

"These five men will join seven others who are already in police custody in connection with the child abuse case," added Saeed.

Police spokeswoman Nabeela Ghazanfar also confirmed the details.

Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has ordered an independent judicial inquiry and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed stern action against those responsible.

An initial police probe, carried out last week at the behest of the provincial government, described the allegations as “baseless” -- a conclusion immediately rejected by local media and rights activists.

The head of Punjab's Child Protection Bureau, Saba Sadiq, described the case as “the largest child abuse scandal in Pakistan's history."

CM Punjab suspends senior police officials

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday suspended senior police officials from Kasur for failing to conduct their duties effectively in relation to reports of child molestation in the area.

According to a notification issued by the government, District Police Office (DPO) Rai Babar and Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Hassan Farooq have been dismissed from their positions for not taking timely actions to prevent child sex abuse and the ensuing videotape blackmailing that has allegedly continued for the past many years in Kasur district’s village Husain Khanwala.

Also read: Accused says children abused in his presence

Meanwhile, Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Mushtaq Sukhera visited the affected village on Tuesday evening, where he conducted a press conference that was attended by families of the victims.

The provincial police chief said the scandal was one of the worst in Pakistan’s history, adding that a joint investigation team had been constituted to thoroughly probe the matter.

Sukhera said there was no need to take the matter to a military court and requested villagers not to register “fake cases.”

On the occasion, the IG listened to villagers’ grievances vis-à-vis the police’s inaction.

But the police chief had to cut short his conference when the villagers became agitated at his responses over their complaints on the police’s inefficiency. Sukera was escorted by a heavy contingent of policemen while protestors attempted to stop his vehicle from leaving the area.

Earlier today, the Lahore High Court (LHC) sought a report from Advocate General Punjab Naveed Rasool Mirza, Inspector General Police Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera and Home Secretary Punjab Azam Suleman to determine if the Kasur child abuse case can be tried in an ATC.

Earlier, relatives of four more victims had come forward to register their complaints in the child abuse scandal. An application was filed by family members claiming that the victims had been abused at gunpoint.

Reports of the sexual abuse of about 280 children have shocked the country. Most of the victims who are from Husain Khanwala village near Kasur are less than 14-years-old. The victims were sexually abused and filmed by members of a gang. Their families had also been blackmailed by the gang since 2009.