A search is underway for two suspects accused of assaulting and filming a teenage boy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district, police said on Thursday.

Mardan police spokesperson Muhammad Faheem Khan said the force had taken prompt action and launched a search operation to arrest the suspects.

“The suspects stripped the boy, beat him with sticks, and filmed the assault before making the video go viral on social media,” Faheem said.

Quoting District Police Officer Zahoor Babar Afridi, the spokesperson said he reacted strongly to the incident and said that “no powerful person can target the weak or poor class, the law is equal for everyone.”

He said the district police took immediate notice of the incident and directed the Hoti police to take strict action against the culprits.

According to Faheem, Hoti police Station House Officer Riaz Khan ordered immediate action and registered a case against two residents of Gali Bagh, Misri Abad Road.

A first information report (FIR) was registered at Hoti Police Station on Wednesday at the complaint of the victim under Sections 292 (sale, etc of obscene books, etc), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person, otherwise than on grave provocation), 376 (rape) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation; if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as Sections 37 (punishment for violence) and 53 (sexual abuse) of the KP Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010.

According to the complainant, the video was recorded one year ago.

Police added that special teams have been formed to arrest the suspects.

As many as 3,364 child abuse cases were reported from all four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2024, according to a civil society report.

The report Cruel Numbers 2024 by Sahil was prepared based on data collected from 81 national and regional newspapers across the country.

“The objectives of the report is to present the data on the situation regarding violence against children (up to 18 years) in cases of sexual abuse, abduction/kidnapping, missing children, and child marriages,” said Sahil.

Earlier this week, police in Mardan arrested four individuals in a case involving a viral video wherein the suspects were involved in the harassment of a teenage girl.

The action was taken on KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s instructions after the incident was highlighted by journalists.