Chan said when his wife approached the local police for help, the accused set him free and he had to walk home without any clothes.
A prayer leader who was allegedly paraded naked in Chohar Sharif village has blamed the police of siding with the accused men.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after filing a complaint with the district police officer (DPO) of Haripur, Chan Muhammad Khan, 51, who is the prayer leader at a local mosque, said his son Naeem Shehzad had an argument with the son of an influential local, Ajmal Khan, around three days earlier.
On the evening of the same day, he was about to give the call for evening prayers when Ajmal Khan, Amanullah, Abdul Salam, Sahab Khan and Safeer allegedly barged into the mosque armed with pistols and AK-47 rifles and dragged Chan out of the building. Chan claimed the men did not even bother taking off their shoes before entering the mosque.
“They first disrobed me and then paraded me naked in the village for quite some time. The villagers saw what was happening but did not dare to rescue me because the accused are influential people,” said Chan between sobs.
He claimed the men beat him savagely, thrashing him with the rear end of the rifles and kicking him. They then reportedly took Chan to their guest room where they assaulted him for another two hours.
Chan said when his wife approached the local police for help, the accused set him free and he had to walk home without any clothes. He, however, said the police did not turn up to take any action against the perpetrators.
The next morning Chan lodged a written complaint at City police station, but they neither registered an FIR against the accused nor did they arrest him, he claimed. Chan said the men degraded him due to the dispute between Ajmal Khan’s son and his own.
However, some independent sources said the prayer leader had allegedly been accused of trying to sexually assault a boy from the family of the accused with the help of another villager. But Chan rejected the allegations, saying the story was fabricated to justify the crime against him.
Meanwhile, City police have registered a case against all six accused under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code as per the directions of Haripur DPO Najeeb ur Rehman Bhagvu. None of the accused, however, have been apprehended as yet.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2013.
COMMENTS (9)
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Regardless of whether the priest assaulted the boy or not no one has the right to parade any one or beat any one regardless. Feudal system needs to be eliminated in Pakistan. Those who paraded the local priest naked through the streets should be given exemplary severe punishment.
where are the human rights organizations? oh wait! prayer leader means 'mullah' who doesnot count as human by these neo-liberal imperialists and their cronies here.
@Nathan: But we do not know if it is a case of " weak don’t get justice ." We do not really know the facts. So it would be first necessary to find out the real culprit and you are right that is not easy, given so many impediments to justice.
@Aahjiz
Didn't mean to offend you or being cynical. Just being a realist. Umpteen incidents everyday , weak don't get justice especially in rural areas. Not just in Pakistan . to a greater or lesser extent , the world over
Nathan
However, some independent sources said the prayer leader had allegedly been accused of trying to sexually assault a boy from the family of the accused with the help of another villager. To me this allegation sounds more logical for this act of Influential perpetrators.
@Nathan: No need to be cynical. Thanks.
Parading woman naked has happened in the past, It is first time that a man has been paraded naked. Powerful and influential are above the laws of land. Laws are for the poor to follow.
@ Aahiz
You hope , really?
nathan
Truth must be found out and whosoever is guilty must be punished as per law.