Schoolchildren bear brunt of elders’ dispute

Police have arrested two people on charges of manhandling and torturing three boys of the Government Model High School Darya Khan.

When contacted, the DPO of Bhakkar, Syed Ali Raza, told The Express Tribune that a land dispute had been going on between two parties in the limits of Thani Darya Khan area.

Police had summoned the disputants to the police station and warned them to beware of taking law into their own hands and let the court decide the matter.

He said that the disputants had been told in unequivocal terms that if they attempted to disturb the law and order situation they would be dealt with according to the dictates of the law.

The DPO said that as soon as he got the information about violence on the children while they had been on their way to school, he immediately took notice of the incident.

Police shifted the injured children to the hospital under police protection. A boy whose condition was critical was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital of Bhakkar while the SHO of the police station concerned was strictly instructed to immediately trace and arrest the accused involved in the incident.

Two accused had already been arrested while police teams were formed to arrest the remaining accused and the fugitives would soon be brought under the ambit of the law.

The DPO said that he had been personally supervising the investigation process. The medical report from the hospital would also be received soon. According to the eyewitnesses, there were eight armed men who intercepted the three boys while they had been on their way to school.

They said that the boys kept pleading for mercy, but the men allegedly continued to torture them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2022.