BAHAWALNAGAR: The district police claimed on Friday to have arrested three persons, including a cleric, for alleged cases of molesting and gang-raping two teenagers in separate incidents.

An FIR registered with the Dunga Bunga police on Thursday alleged that a local cleric of Maharwali village invited a 15-year-old of the same area to the mosque on July 16 through a text message. There, the FIR alleged, the cleric started lewd acts with him and incited the boy to commit sexual acts.

Afterwards, the cleric allegedly grabbed the victim by the arm and took him to a room next to the mosque and started sexually harassing him. However, he fled when some passersby reached the scene after hearing the hue and cry of the boy, it added.

In another incident, the B Division police claimed to have arrested two men who allegedly gang-raped a tailor after inviting him to their outhouse on the pretext of giving him measurements in Chishtian.

The police said the two men from Purani Chishtian invited an 18-year-old tailor to their residence on Thursday and took him to an empty place near the house. There, the police alleged, the men repeatedly raped the victim and also snatched his mobile phone during the act.

Police said all three men had been arrested on Friday while they were trying to flee from the area. They had confessed to their crimes during the investigation, the police said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025