MULTAN, May 16: The Child Protection and Welfare Bureau on Wednesday handed over five children to their parents who were recovered about a week ago reportedly from a sub-center of Nagehban, a subsidiary of the Social Welfare Department.

Bureau’s resident director Ali Raza has handed over children — Umair, Junaid, Shahid, Abdul Salam and Haji Muhammad to their parents.

On May 9, a bureau team on a tip-off had raided the center, a government institute for providing shelter to runaway children, near the General Bus Stand and recovered seven children from there. Six of the children were found kept in chains there.

The Seetal Mari police along with the CPWB team had also arrested centre’s caretaker Muhammad Nazir and in charge Saleem Khalid.

Police also recovered a tape recorder and cassettes which were used to record the conversation of the children. Besides, a toy pistol used for harassing the children was also seized.

The recovered children alleged that the caretaker subjected them to torture and sexual abuse. They further alleged that the caretaker used to hand them over to different people for sexual abuse.

The recovered children were identified as Abdul Salam (10) of Jalla Arrayen; Umair (12) of Sheikhupura; Shahid (13) of Vehari; Nauman Tahir (9) of Lahore; Junaid (12) of Makhdoompur; Muhammad Nazir (11) and Muhammad Haji (11) of Jalalpur Pirwala.

Social Welfare Department’s district officer Salma Yasmeen Ghori claimed that the arrested accused had nothing to do with the department as Multan had no Nagehban’s center.

She said that some information centers had been established in 2002 which were made nonfunctional the same year.