Left for dead: Girl tortured by cleric dies; family protests

Suspect, who was arrested, has been released without legal proceedings

MULTAN: An eight-year-old girl, who was allegedly tortured by a cleric at a religious seminary in Qadir Pur Rawan last week, died at Nishtar Hospital Multan on Tuesday.

After the death of the girl, her family took to the streets and protested outside the hospital. They blocked the road for two hours and demanded strict action against the accused.

Mohammad Jameel, the father of the girl, Mahnoor Fatima, said police arrested cleric Abdul Haq, but later released him without initiating any legal proceedings. "My daughter died due to the negligence of the doctors and brutal torture inflicted by the teacher at the seminary."

Last week, the girl was tortured and strung up with a rope reportedly for going out of a class without permission. Qadir Pur Raan police had told The Express Tribune that Mahnoor, a student of Madrassah Ameer Muawiya, left the classroom to drink water without the permission of cleric Qari Abdul Haq. When the girl came back in the classroom, the cleric tortured her and strung her up from a tree in the yard of the seminary, the police said.

When the family protested outside the hospital, Qadirpur Rawan police reached the spot and assured that legal action would be taken against the culprits. Police told The Express Tribune that the cleric was released on bail and further investigations are underway.

Later, the protesters ended the demonstration and left for their hometown in Bangal Kalaranwala, Qadir Pur Raan.

On the other hand, Commissioner Multan Nadeem Irshad Kiyani formed a three-member committee to probe the death of the girl. The committee members included Additional Commissioner Multan, Assistant Commissioner Multan and Dr Kashaf Chishti.

The Multan commissioner told officials that a comprehensive report, revealing the identity of the people involved in the student’s death, should be submitted within the three days. The report will also indicate if there was any negligence on the part of the doctors.  Kiyani said that strict action would be taken against the responsible peopeple after the submission of the report.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2018.