Boy’s tongue burnt on Panchayat order

11-year-old boy was suspected of stealing a can of ghee, kettle

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

A minor child’s tongue was burnt after a local Panchayat decided to punish him on suspicion of theft near Dera Ghazi Khan.

The 11-year-old boy was accused of stealing a can of ghee and a kettle. To judge his innocence, a hot iron rod was put on his tongue.

The commandant of Border Military Police (BMP) took notice of the incident, after which a case was registered and three suspects were arrested.

According to information received in this regard, local people set up their own court in Kalimar area of Koh-e-Sulaiman, in the constituency of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, where a shopkeeper accused 11-year-old Mohammad Tehsib of stealing a can of ghee and a kettle.

Area residents including Abdul Rehman, Siraj and Mohammad Khan setup a Panchayat and in order to prove his innocence, ordered the boy put a hot iron rod on his tongue as per a tribal ritual called Bhapani.

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As a result, the tongue of the child was burnt and he was declared a thief. A heavy fine was imposed on his family.

Upon the report of the incident, BMP personnel in Fazla registered a case after medical examination of the boy. The three suspects were arrested on the instructions of BMP Commandant Ahmed Hassan Ranjha.

Fazla Kachh Circle DSP Hashim Buzdar said that the police had arrested the three suspects.

“We will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands,” he added.

Commandant Ranjha said that no one was allowed to set up his own court and if someone commits a crime, a complaint can be lodged against him in the police station concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2021.