Cost of freewill: 5 held for beating youth on refusing to work for them

Doctor says Hussain has five fractures in his legs and cuts on his lips.

FAISALABAD:

Tandlianwala Saddar police have arrested five men for beating and torturing a teenager on his refusal to work on their farm.

SHO Ali Akhtar said the suspects, identified in the FIR as Bahawal Sher, Essa, Ishaq, Wahid and Bhola, would be produced before a court on Friday (today). They are accused of kidnapping Qadeer Hussain, 18, and beating him over his refusal to work on their farm in Chak 402-GB.

The FIR, registered on a complaint filed by Hussain’s father Latif Hussain, stated that he was rescued from the suspects’ dera on Tuesday by his relatives. It said Hussain’s head and moustache had been shaved, his teeth broken and lips cut with a blade. The suspects were later arrested from a neighbouring village.

Dr Azmat Abbas Khitchi, who treated Hussain at his private clinic in Tandlianwala, told The Express Tribune that he had five fractures in his legs.

He said he had bruises from the beating on his back and chest.

The doctor said he had given first aid to the boy for the cuts on his lips and recommended that he should be taken to Allied Hospital for further treatment.

Latif Hussain said he had taken his son to Tandianwala tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospital and Allied Hospital before visiting Dr Khitchi’s clinic.

“I felt that doctors at the THQ hospital and Allied Hospital were not paying enough attention to him,” he said.

The FIR stated that Hussain was abducted following an argument over his job in Lahore, where he has lived for a year.

It said the suspects had wanted him to quit the job in Lahore and return to the village to work on their farm.

Hussain was visiting his home in the village for Eid holidays.

Penal Code

The FIR mentions Sections 337 (punishment of ghayr-jaifah) F/3 (mutafahimah to any person, shall be liable to daman and may also be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to three years as ta’zir), F/1 (damihah to any person, shall be liable to daman and may also be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year as ta’zir), V (arsh for hair) and L2 (punishment for other hurt, whoever causes hurt not covered by sub-section (1) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with daman, or with both); 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), and 148 and 149 (rioting).

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2012.