Cleric Aziz, two sons indicted in Lahore seminary assault case

Court summons case witnesses, adjourns hearing till Oct 18

LAHORE:

A local court in Lahore on Monday indicted Mufti Aziz, the cleric accused of molesting a seminary student, and his two sons in the case

Earlier, the accused were produced in front of the judicial magistrate surrounded by police personnel. Summoning witnesses in the case, the court adjourned the hearing till October 18.

In June, the cleric confessed to the crime, saying, “The video of molestation is of me; I made a mistake and I'm embarrassed about it.”

He had further stated that the “student videotaped the occurrence out of my knowledge,” adding, “When I found out [about the video] I told him to not disseminate it”.

Also read Seminary teacher held on sexual assault charges

“He made the video viral despite that I had warned him. After it went viral, my sons called him out and threatened him [with consequences]," the cleric added.

Punjab police had arrested the cleric for molesting the student. The 70-year-old was booked after a video of him sexually assaulting the student went viral on social media platforms.

The cleric had been on the run after being booked on sexual assault charges. The charges came after the assault survivor released footage of the cleric molesting him.

On June 16, police registered a First Information Report against the cleric on the survivor’s complaint.