MANSEHRA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s former MPAs Mufti Kifaytullah and Mohammad Ibrar Tanoli handed over Qari Shamsuddin, prime accused in the seminary student’s assault case, to the police here on Sunday night.
The student was sexually assaulted by his teacher at a seminary in Upper Kohistan a few days back.
Mufti Kifaytullah, according to police sources, had committed to present the accused before police till Saturday night.
The sources said the police had already arrested four co-accused, including the seminary’s owner, in the case.
Mazharul Haq Kakakhel, the DIG Hazara police, confirmed the handing over of the accused, saying that a special team constituted by him had made frequent raids at the possible hideouts of the accused. Earlier, the people of Upper Kohistan took to the streets, demanding public hanging of the assaulter.
Protesters demand public hanging of the culprit
The protesters holding placards began marching through the Kamila Bazaar, shouting slogans against the accuser.
The speakers, including Abdul Jabbar Khan, Shamsur Rehman Shams, Fazal Mubarak Advocate, Maulana Inzmamul Haq and others, demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the case to ensure that such incidents did not take place in future.
The 10-year-old victim, who hailed from Kohistan, was enrolled in Madressah Taleemul Quran some three months ago.
According to the FIR lodged with Mansehra police on Dec 25 by his family, he was sexually assaulted by accused Qari Shamsuddin, who is a teacher at government high school, Parhana, and also imparts religious education at the said seminary, run by his brother, in the evening.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa education department has constituted a committee to probe the incident.
“I have constituted a probe committee on the orders of the competent authority to investigate a government school teacher for assaulting a seminary student and report within a week,” Khan Mohammad Swati, the district education officer, told reporters on Sunday.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2019