Apprentice abused: Auto electrician sent to jail on judicial remand

Police say medical report confirm the boy had been sexually assaulted

MANSEHRA: A district court on Monday sent an auto electrician to jail for 14 days on judicial remand for allegedly sexually assaulting his trainee for over a year.

Khaki police said that 14-year-old Wafi* 14 had been working as an apprentice at the auto repair shop of Syed Basharat Shah in Bherkund area, for over a year and a half.

One evening, shortly after joining the shop, Wafi claimed that his ustad sexually assaulted him and threatened to shame him publicly and harm him if he ever told anyone about it.  The victim recounted that since he was threatened with dire consequences he did not tell anyone and silently bore the harrowing ordeal for over 18 months.

However, when he realised that Shah’s abuse had become habitual, he decided to tell his parents about him. They encouraged Wafi to file a complaint against the electrician.

The matter was also raised at a local jirga where the accused offered the victim Rs35,000 as compensation, but Wafi* and his family refused, opting instead to lodge a complaint with the police.

On his complaint the Khaki police registered a criminal case against Shah under section 377 and 511 PPC and arrested him. Police confirmed that a medical report had confirmed the sexual abuse while further investigations in the matter continue. Shah was arrested three days ago and a judicial magistrate initially handed him over to the police for two-days physical remand.

When that expired on Monday, police produced him again before the magistrate, seeking an extension in the remand. The court granted the request sent him to the District Jail Mansehra on judicial remand for 14-days.

*Names changed to protect the victim’s identity

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2016.