SARGODHA: A prayer leader was arrested after he was allegedly caught red-handed while committing rape with a minor boy in an adjoining room of a mosque in Shahwala South in Khushab district.

In her complaint to the Noorpur Thal Police, the victim’s mother said that her nine-year-old son ‘H’ used to go to a mosque for hifz where ‘R’ taught him along with other children of the village.

She alleged that when her son did not return home on Saturday, she along with another person went to the mosque. There, she claimed that she heard the cries of her son from the adjoining room of the mosque and saw that the ‘R’ was committing rape with her son.

She claimed that her son told her that ‘R’ had been raping him for the last one month and had threatened to kill him if he told anyone.

Police registered a case and arrested the suspect and were investigating.

In another incident, a 16-year-old boy was allegedly raped at gunpoint by a group of friends, who also recorded a video which was later released when the victim failed to pay money demanded by the suspects.

According to police, the victim was raped by suspect ‘A’ and his friends recorded a video of the incident in Ratu Kala village.

The Phularawan Police in Bhalwal tehsil of Sargodha have registered a case against ‘A’ and his three friends on the complaint of the victim’s maternal uncle.

The complainant had claimed that they did not lodge a report earlier to protect the honour of their family. However, he claimed that when the culprits uploaded the video of the incident on social media, they were left with no other option and lodged a complaint with the police.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026