Kasur child porn scandal not as big as feared: JIT

Says media, rights groups created hype, actual number of victims much lower

LAHORE:

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has tempered down the child pornography scandal that broke out in Kasur three months ago, blaming rights groups and the media for creating hype around the case and playing into the hands of the accused party’s foes for political and personal gain.

Only 19 sodomy claims as opposed to a rumoured 284 were found to be genuine, according to the findings of the five-member team, headed by DIG Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh.

Kasur child pornography: Knowing the difference between resistance and consent

The findings were released after team members investigated 31 FIRs, interviewed more than 400 people – some of them repeatedly – and examined a total of 47 video-clips and 72 photos in light of Punjab Forensic Science report.

The probe team will submit a final report to the Lahore High Court on November 16.

In addition to exaggerated claims, the team said it did not find any evidence of extortion as claimed in the FIRs and by media as well as the uploading of video clips on the internet for monetary gain.



The JIT has presented challan of a total of 17 persons as accused. Out of these, ten have been challanned under charges of sodomy and seven under other charges like criminal intimidation and fraud. It has also recommended discharge of eight cases, which, it said, are fake.

The report said the 10-member gang of the accused, led by a Haseem Amir, acted in tandem and committed acts of sodomy and videotaped the same while they were still adolescents. It said all the video-clips (47) relating to the scandal were 4-5 years old.

It said the gang took hold of a victim either by force or through enticement, molested him, shot his video and compelled him to do it again or act as a perpetrator.  The report said the family members of the accused were also instrumental in protecting the accused persons through the years.



Scandal and local politics

The JIT said the local politics played a role in projection of the scandal at the national level. It said the accused party was close to a Master Zafar, a land owner who enjoyed overall support of MPA Saeed Ahmad. Master Zafar was also contesting for the slot of chairman in local government (LG) elections

According to the JIT, Master Zafar’s political opponents – headed by a Master Ahmad Din – who also fielded their candidate, Mobeen Ghazanvi, against him in the LG polls decided to manipulate the case to gain political mileage.

It said Ghazanvi met Kasur’s district police officer (DPO) through a reference and told him about the scandal. The DPO ordered two station house officers (SHOs) to inquire into the matter. On failure to make a breakthrough, he went to Lahore to an Advocate Latif Sara, who ensured him of his help and gave him contacts of some media persons. It said that since then the group was in contact with the advocate, who acted on their instructions.



The report said the two groups also had a land dispute.  Master Zafar, as prime bidder through auction, had acquired around 92 kanals of land of Canal Rest House of the irrigation department situated on the outskirts of the village.

The rival group had moved applications for its cancellation.  The JIT report said when Master Ahmad Din and Ghazanvi failed in their efforts for cancellation of land allocation and they began losing their political influence, they decided to use video-clips to settle scores.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2015.