Boy, 13, harassed, assaulted by three
Three men attempt to sexually assault boy, detained and photographed him without clothes three months ago.
ZAHIR PIR:
A 13-year-old boy in Chachra Sharif was allegedly harassed and blackmailed by some men in his neighbourhood for three months.
A case registered with Zahir Pir police said that three of these men on Wednesday attempted to sexually assault the boy, a class 6 student, in a field near his house. The men fled after the boy’s shouts attracted a few passersby to the scene.
These men, the FIR said, had detained the boy and photographed him without clothes three months ago. They had been threatening to upload these on the internet or distribute them in the area in case the boy mentioned them to anyone.
A police official on condition of anonymity said that one of the three accused, Peran Ditta, was caught by the police but was released on a local politician’s request. The politician had assured the police that he would hold a jirga and hand Ditta over to the police if he was found guilty of the charges, he said.
SHO Farukh Javed, however, denied that Ditta had been arrested by the police. He said police were investigating the case and would make raids to arrest Ditta and the other accused – Abdul Hamid and an unidentified man.
He said the medical samples of the boy had been sent to the local rural health centre (RHC) and that further headway could be made once the report was available.
RHC in-charge Dr Khan Wazir said he had not received any samples or been contacted by the police about such an incident.
The SHO insisted that he had sent the samples, saying that the official might not have reached the RHC yet.
The boy’s family told The Tribune that they had been unaware that their child was being harassed by these men. “He never told us anything until Wednesday’s incident,” they said.
The FIR was registered under sections 337 and 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2011.
A 13-year-old boy in Chachra Sharif was allegedly harassed and blackmailed by some men in his neighbourhood for three months.
A case registered with Zahir Pir police said that three of these men on Wednesday attempted to sexually assault the boy, a class 6 student, in a field near his house. The men fled after the boy’s shouts attracted a few passersby to the scene.
These men, the FIR said, had detained the boy and photographed him without clothes three months ago. They had been threatening to upload these on the internet or distribute them in the area in case the boy mentioned them to anyone.
A police official on condition of anonymity said that one of the three accused, Peran Ditta, was caught by the police but was released on a local politician’s request. The politician had assured the police that he would hold a jirga and hand Ditta over to the police if he was found guilty of the charges, he said.
SHO Farukh Javed, however, denied that Ditta had been arrested by the police. He said police were investigating the case and would make raids to arrest Ditta and the other accused – Abdul Hamid and an unidentified man.
He said the medical samples of the boy had been sent to the local rural health centre (RHC) and that further headway could be made once the report was available.
RHC in-charge Dr Khan Wazir said he had not received any samples or been contacted by the police about such an incident.
The SHO insisted that he had sent the samples, saying that the official might not have reached the RHC yet.
The boy’s family told The Tribune that they had been unaware that their child was being harassed by these men. “He never told us anything until Wednesday’s incident,” they said.
The FIR was registered under sections 337 and 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2011.