PESHAWAR: The principal of a private school, arrested on charges of sexually abusing several women and making their objectionable videos, has confessed to his crime before the court of a local magistrate.

Magistrate Asghar Khan recorded statement of the suspect, Attaullah Khan Marwat, under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, following which he was sent to Peshawar Central Prison on judicial remand.

The suspect, who is also owner of the school, was arrested after a case was registered against him on July 14, 2017, at Hayatabad police station on complaint of a student. The student had levelled serious allegations against him of sexually exploiting students and women and making their objectionable videos by installing secret cameras in different parts of the school.

However, a police officer privy to the investigation in the case, told Dawn that so far the charge of sexually abusing students by the principal could not be proved.

Riaz Khan, the investigation officer, told Dawn that the suspect was produced before the magistrate on Wednesday and he recorded his confessional statement. However, he stated that his confessional statement was only related to bringing women from outside to the school, having sex with them and making their objectionable videos.

When asked that in the FIR it was mentioned that he had also made videos of students and teachers to blackmail them, the official said that there were initial allegations of that type against him which had so far not been proved.

A student of the school had told police that the suspect was involved in exploitation of students and teachers. He alleged that he exploited students, teachers and some outsider women, but because of his fear nobody was disclosing those facts.

The student also alleged that the principal also showed him several videos, which he recorded secretly and also invited him to indulge in that kind of activities.

The police, in the FIR, stated when they raided the school the suspect tried to conceal his two mobile phones. It was alleged that in the said phones there were several objectionable videos of different boys and the suspect used three rooms of the school for that purpose.

According to the FIR, police also recovered memory cards and USBs and in preliminary inspection several videos were witnessed in which the suspect was involved in immoral activities with boys and girls. “One of the video was filmed while the suspect was busy in sexually abusing a minor boy and a girl,” the FIR states.

The case was registered under around a dozen sections of Pakistan Penal Code dealing with adultery, rape, outraging modesty of a woman, stripping women of their clothes, criminal intimidation, enticing away females, seducing minor girls, etc.

The police also claimed to have recovered contraband and a pistol from his possession. They also claimed to have recovered a camera installed in the school for filming videos.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2017