Cleric’s torture leaves child blind

A seven-year-old religious seminary student lost sight in one of his eyes due to alleged torture by a cleric in the Kallar Sathwani area within the limits of Kallar Syedan Police station. The police registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s father and arrested the cleric. According to sources, Shafqat Hussain informed the police that his sevenyear-old son, Muhammad Ali, used to take tuition for the Holy Quran from cleric Hafiz Muhammad Ali in a nearby mosque.

On July 23, when the child went to study as usual, Hafiz Muhammad Ali allegedly tortured the child for not memorising his lesson. During the episode, the teacher threw the child on the ground where pieces of broken glass were scattered. As a result, a shard of the broken glass hit the victim in his right eye which started to bleed. On receiving intimation, the child was taken to a hospital in Kallar Syedan. Later, the victim was referred to the Holy Family Hospital, where his eye was operated upon. Subsequently, the doctors informed the family that the child had sustained substantial damage to his eye and as a result, he lost sight in the right eye.