LAHORE: Alarmed over rising incidents of sexual assault on young boys and subsequent murders of some of them in Kasur district, the provincial government has decided to not only sternly deal with the culprits, but also engage sociologists and psychologists to dig out the reasons behind the gruesome act.

“There is a need to go to sociological roots of the incidents being reported at a large scale from one of the central Punjab districts (Kasur). And for that purpose we are engaging Punjab University’s Dean of Social Sciences Dr Zakaria Zakir, requesting him to find out why people in the district bordering India are indulging in sexual assault on boys and murdering them,” said Lahore Commissioner Abdullah Sumbal on Sunday.

Kasur gained worldwide attention after media reported endemic sexual assaults on boys in a village in 2015. The culprits were arrested and are being tried.

Mr Sumbal said the incidents in the district never stopped. First such cases were reported from within Kasur city and later Pattoki, bordering Okara district, and Ganda Singhwala located at the Pakistan-India border. Around eight assaulted boys were also murdered in the last one year.

The home department had taken serious notice of the incidents when they were reported with officials questioning their reason, sources said. Senior officials of the prosecution and social welfare department were also consulted.

Finally, the Lahore commissioner recently called a meeting which was attended by officials of these departments and the Kasur deputy commissioner.

During the meeting, it was revealed that there was no office of Child Protection Bureau in Kasur. Surprised, the commissioner directed its immediate establishment, and the deputy commissioner has reportedly started work on the office in the District Complex.

The meeting decided to engage a clinical psychologist from the Kasur DHQ hospital to counsel the culprits as well as victims.

It was learnt that the Kasur district social welfare office was not performing to its optimal level due to lack of resources and capacity building, and there was an institutional gap between it and the Child Protection Bureau.

The social welfare secretary told Dawn that the office was now being equipped to deliver to the required level. It was also approaching the Punjab University for investigation into sociological causes of the crime.

It was decided to create awareness among people so as to discourage the crime and teach parents how to protect their children, utilising services of health field staff, including lady health visitors, polio and dengue teams. Ulema of peace committees, mosques, seminaries, and the field staff of agriculture, livestock and auqaf departments should also be engaged for the purpose.

The deputy commissioner was asked to notify a district coordination committee comprising all departments concerned for further deliberations on the issue. The Kasur district police officer was asked to appoint a focal person for liaison with the prosecution department so as to ensure speedy punishment of culprits.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017