The police arrested a suspect for allegedly sexually assaulting and injuring his four-year-old neighbour in the Puran tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district on Wednesday.

Aloch Police Station House Officer (SHO) Bakht Zeb Khan told Dawn.com that the victim’s uncle alleged the boy was molested by his neighbour and badly injured while alone at home in the tehsil’s Sanila area.

The SHO said the police took the victim to Pir Mohammad Khan Shaheed Hospital in Aloch for a medical examination and recorded a statement from the victim, who detailed the abuse and said he managed to escape from the alleged assailant.

SHO Khan said the victim’s initial medical report confirmed the assault, while a DNA report “would take some time”.

He added that the police lodged a first information report, based on the uncle’s complaint and the victim’s statement under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code and 53A (sexual abuse) of the Child Protection Act, and arrested the suspect.

“Further investigation is underway, the SHO said.

On Sunday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that one billion children experience physical, emotional or sexual abuse every year.

“Experiencing violence is not only a violation of children’s rights, it also increases the risk of mental health conditions, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer, infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, and social problems such as criminal activity and substance abuse,” the WHO said.