Chained at madrassah: Father, teacher of pre-teen sent to jail
Boy’s father, Ramazan, had asked his son’s teacher to detain him.
An Express News screengrab showing the chained child.
LAHORE:
The father of a 12-year-old boy who escaped a madrassah on Monday where he had been kept chained was sent on a 14-day remand by a court on Tuesday. Investigation Officer Nazeer Uppal of Factory Area police told The Express Tribune that the boy’s father, Ramazan, had asked his son’s teacher to detain him. “Ramazan told the court that the boy would always run away from madrassahs where he was sent… He said he himself bought the chain and gave it to Qari Waseem, the boy’s teacher at the seminary.” Ramazan said his son had dropped out of school after completing class IV. He said he then took him to a madrassah from where he ran away soon afterwards. He said the child studied for a little over a year and a half at another seminary before fleeing from there too. “His father took him to Faizul Quran madrassah a few months ago,” Uppal said. Qari Waseem said he had joined the seminary only a month ago and had never beaten up any child there. He told the police that he had initially rejected Ramazan’s idea of chaining the child but agreed when the seminary nazim asked him to. Uppal said the court had rejected these claims and sent Qari Waseem on a judicial remand. He said police were preparing the challan which would be submitted to the court at the next hearing. Police took the child in protective custody on Monday. The boy was found by a shopkeeper in Gulistan Colony with a chain tied to his feet. He later told police that he had escaped Madrassah Faizul Quran in Amar Sidhu village where he had been detained.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2014.
The father of a 12-year-old boy who escaped a madrassah on Monday where he had been kept chained was sent on a 14-day remand by a court on Tuesday. Investigation Officer Nazeer Uppal of Factory Area police told The Express Tribune that the boy’s father, Ramazan, had asked his son’s teacher to detain him. “Ramazan told the court that the boy would always run away from madrassahs where he was sent… He said he himself bought the chain and gave it to Qari Waseem, the boy’s teacher at the seminary.” Ramazan said his son had dropped out of school after completing class IV. He said he then took him to a madrassah from where he ran away soon afterwards. He said the child studied for a little over a year and a half at another seminary before fleeing from there too. “His father took him to Faizul Quran madrassah a few months ago,” Uppal said. Qari Waseem said he had joined the seminary only a month ago and had never beaten up any child there. He told the police that he had initially rejected Ramazan’s idea of chaining the child but agreed when the seminary nazim asked him to. Uppal said the court had rejected these claims and sent Qari Waseem on a judicial remand. He said police were preparing the challan which would be submitted to the court at the next hearing. Police took the child in protective custody on Monday. The boy was found by a shopkeeper in Gulistan Colony with a chain tied to his feet. He later told police that he had escaped Madrassah Faizul Quran in Amar Sidhu village where he had been detained.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2014.