No letup in child sexual assault, kidnapping

In latest incident,<br /> 11-year-old boy narrowly escapes attempted rape

LAHORE: Another case of attempted sexual assault on a minor was reported in Batapur. On the other hand, police still remain clueless of the whereabouts of as many as 255 missing children.

In this latest incident, the victim was identified as 11-year-old K*. The child was going to the medical store when Sohail, who works at a tailor shop, tried to abduct him. The victim resisted the move and started crying. Hearing his screams, locals gathered and thwarted the attempt.

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When the victim reached home, his family members inquired about the reason for his hysteria. K narrated his ordeal, thus prompting his uncle to confront the suspect. Sohail reportedly misbehaved with the uncle at the scene.

Later, the assailant gathered his accomplices and attacked the boy’s house, even opening fire at the residence. He threatened the family and broke daily use items.

Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter further.

Meanwhile, the Anti Organised Crime Cell of Lahore Police have arrested a suspect involved in the sodomy-cum-murder case of a minor. This incident was also reported in the Batapur police jurisdiction.

The suspect, identified as Hazim Iqbal, had beaten the victim to death with bricks and later dumped his body in the fields after sexual assault.

The victim, identified as S*, had taken cattle to the fields. When he did not return, his family started searching for him. His body was finally recovered from an abandoned field. The victim was a Grade-III student and the only child of his parents.

The accused worked as a laborer. SP CIA Asim Iftikhar said that the accused first assaulted the victim. Later, he strangled him with a rope and beat him to death with bricks.

The accused, while talking to the media, said that he was influenced by “supernatural” powers at the time he committed the crime. The suspect had a past criminal record and allegedly assaulted a minor and a woman of his area.

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However, the matter was defused after the suspect apologised to locals who let him go after giving him a beating.

Child sexual abuse is a serious issue in the country. This is not the first incident of murder after sexual assault in the city. Data analysis from 2002-2011 by Sahil, an organistion working against violence towards children, showed that there have been a steep rise in cases of child abuse in the country.

Despite the reporting of incidents like the Zainab murder case in Kasur, there has been no letup in such incidents. Sahil’s data showed that a total number of 3,832 cases were reported during the year 2018, averaging more than 10 children a day.

There was an increase of 11% when compared to the figure of 3,445 cases recorded in 2017.

Hundreds of children still missing

Police are still clueless about at least 255 children who were abducted or went missing from January 2011 till July 2019 across Punjab.

At least 13 children were kidnapped or went missing in 2011, six in 2012, eight in 2013, 15 in 2014, 32 in 2015, 27 in 2016, 30 in 2017, 41 during 2018 and 83 in the ongoing year.

Children are often the most vulnerable segment of society and the case is no different in Pakistan. Locally, children are subjected to different forms of violence including sexual abuse, domestic violence and corporal punishment by teachers. There have been instances in which they died due to torture by employers who hired them as domestic help.

In 2018, after Zainab’s murder case in Kasur, it was revealed that a serial killer had killed about 10 minor girls after raping them. There was also a pornography scandal that was unearthed in Hasnain Khanwala, a village of Kasur.

The issue of child abduction has come forth as a serious national after a surge in such cases was witnessed in child abduction cases three years ago. At the time, the \body of a minor boy was recovered from a drain in Badami Bagh. He was killed after sexual assault. Following this incident, a case of child abduction was reported every other day.

The issue received so much hype that people started beating up even the mothers and fathers of children, mistaking them for kidnappers. In Shalimar, a mother was beaten up because her complexion did not match that of her son who she was walking with on the street.

Rumours surfaced on social media that an organised gang was abducting children to steal their organs.

Data analysis at that time indicated that the majority of cases were related to children going missing or being lost. However, the cases were registered at the police station under kidnapping charges.

Further data, available with The Express Tribune, revealed that a total of 512 children were abducted or went missing during the ongoing year. As many as 429 children were recovered and 83 were yet to be found. In 2018, 915 children were abducted, 874 of them were recovered and 41 are still missing.

In 2017, 651 children were abducted. Of the total, 621 children were recovered and 30 were still missing. In 2016, 384 children went missing and 374 of them were recovered. Meanwhile, there was still no trace of the missing 10 children from this year.

The provincial capital—Lahore—topped the list with 191 missing children. However, 162 were recovered and 29 were yet to be spotted.

In 2018, 340 were reportedly abducted, 322 were recovered and 18 were still missing. In 2017, 298 were abducted, 286 were recovered and 12 were still missing. In 2016, at least 124 were abducted, 121 were recovered and three are still missing.

In Faisalabad, 50 went missing in 2019. As many as 45 children were recovered and five were yet to be traced.

In 2018, 69 children were abducted, 63 were recovered and six children were still missing. In 2017, 43 children were abducted, 42 were recovered and one child was yet to be traced out. In 2016, 27 children were abducted, 25 were recovered and two were still missing.

In Rawalpindi, 45 children were abducted in 2019, 33 were recovered and 12 were still missing. In 2018, 33 were abducted and all were recovered. In 2017, 20 and in 2016, eight children went missing and all of them were recovered.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2019.