Child hospitalised with kidney failure ‘from teacher’s beating’

Police have arrested two of four suspects۔

MULTAN: A child is under treatment at Nishter Hospital for kidney malfunction caused allegedly by beating at a seminary in Muzaffargarh.

Doctors treating Husnain Ahmed say they are administering medicines to the child but may need to start haemo-dialysis if the problem persists.

Dr Rashid Ahmed said the child had also suffered five bone fractures from the beating.

Another child, Hussain Ahmed, who was hospitalised along with Husnain after both were beaten up on suspicion in a theft at the seminary, is still under treatment at the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital in Muzaffargarh. “He has two fractures in his right legs and will remain at the hospital for a month,” said doctors at the DHQ hospital.

Chowk Qureshi police have arrested two of the four teachers identified by parents of the children.

Muzaffarhgarh District Police Officer Zeeshan Asghar said the FIR had been registered under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 148 and 149 (rioting) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He said more sections might be added to the FIR once a medical examination report was available.

He said the suspects, Adeel Qadri and Ashfaq Qadri, were arrested in a raid from Kehror Lal Eisan area in Layyah.  He said raids were underway to track down the two other suspects, Pir Jameel Qadri and his son Aziz Abdur Rehman.

The FIR stated that the suspects had accused the two children of stealing Abdul Rehman’s cell phone and beaten them with iron rods.

Talking to The Express Tribune from an unidentified location on Saturday, Pir Qadri denied the charges. He said the children were scolded for stealing a cell phone but not beaten up.

“They have a habit of stealing things.

We have pointed it out to their parents a number of times and asked them to admonish them,” he said.

“We sent them home with a warning that day. I believe their parents later beat them up. The case is false,” he added.

Mukhtar Hussain, father of Hussain Ahmed, rejected the suggestion that his child was just disciplined and sent home. He said he had found the child lying unconscious in front of his house.

Hussain and Muhammad Ramazan, father of Husnain Ahmed, both said they had received phone calls warning them against proceeding with the police case.

Muzaffargarh police said they have taken notice of the threats and would provide protection to the two families.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2012.