Police recovered a child from a religious seminary in Tando Mohammad Khan where he had been kept bound in chains, officials said on Friday.

According to initial reports, 10-year-old Abdul Ghaffar Memon, son of Mohammad Rafiq Memon, was kept by force at the Madrassah Qasmiya in Anwar Colony, Tando Mohammad Khan. The child is a resident of the same locality.

The father claimed that he had sent his child to the seminary "because he was naughty and kept running away", Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nasim Ara Panhwar said.

SSP Panhwar said police had arrested the father of the child and the head of the seminary, Maulana Sher Mohammad Rind, as they investigated the incident.

The child had been kept there for a week, she said, adding that a case has been registered at the city police station against Rind, Memon and his elder son, Abdul Jabbar.

The news surfaced after a section of media flagged reports that a child had been kept chained at a local seminary. Sindh's Inspector General of Police A.D. Khawaja had subsequently taken notice and ordered action. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also took notice of the reports.

It emerged later, that the boy had raised a hue and cry in the seminary, which was located adjacent to a local FM radio station. Hearing the cries, the station's staffers rushed to the seminary and freed the boy, police officials and local journalists said.

In the meantime, Tando Mohammad Khan police had also received information of the incident. They rushed to the spot and brought the boy to the police station.

The boy told local journalists that he had been kept at the seminary for several days. He said that he was kept bound in chains round the clock and would only be allowed to go to the lavatory.

Around 180 students are currently residing in the seminary for religious education, of which 30 are from areas other than Tando Mohammad Khan.