Kot Addu paedophile ring busted

Men confess to sexually assaulting 26 children

MUZAFFARGARH: Police on Friday claimed to have nabbed three suspects in connection with a child abuse case in Kot Addu.

District authorities said the men had confessed to assaulting 26 children. The case appears to be reminiscent of the Kasur child abuse scandal that had earlier rocked the nation.

"The suspects would pick up children from the streets and abuse them. They would then drop them back," Muzaffargarh DPO Owais Ahmed said. Parents would not file complaints with police for fear of disrepute. However, a few days ago, one of the victim's father complained to police and the child was able to identify one of the suspects, who was then arrested.



Soon after, two others from the group were also nabbed by police. "They have confessed to kidnapping and assaulting 26 children," the Muzaffargarh DPO said. Five other victims have also come forward and two cases have been registered against the suspects. Investigations are underway.

In April, a court had sentenced two men to life imprisonment for their role in a paedophile ring. The men were convicted of abusing dozens of children over many years in the Punjab, their defence lawyer said.



The discovery of the paedophile ring last year had sent shockwaves across Pakistan and led to a rare sanctioning of police officers for negligence after dozens of families came forward to say that their children had been abused and thereafter blackmailed.

Residents had alleged that a prominent family in the village of Husain Khan Wala used guns, knives and axes to force children – some as young as five-years-old – to perform sexual acts on video, which they sold or used to extort money from the victims’ families.