Two suspects arrested for alleged sexual abuse of disabled minor boy in Mandi Bahauddin: Police – Pakistan

Two men were arrested in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district on Sunday for allegedly sexually abusing a disabled minor boy, filming him and uploading a video of the assault on social media, police said.

Mandi Bahauddin District Police Officer (DPO) Ahmed Mohiuddin said Dawn.com When the video of the attack was shared on the Internet, he immediately took note of it and instructed the Malikwal police station to file charges against the suspects and ensure their timely arrest.

On the instructions of the DPO, GA Hashmi, Station House Officer (SHO) of Malikwal police station, filed a complaint against the suspects and arrested both of them from Chak No. 20 area of ​​Mandi Bahauddin.

“Malakwal police station obtained a three-day remand from the magistrate court for the arrested suspects,” said DPO Mohiuddin, adding that both suspects confessed to the crime during interrogation.

A mobile phone was confiscated from the suspects with which they allegedly recorded videos, he added.

SHO Hashmi, while speaking with Dawn.com added that the mute victim identified both suspects through hand gestures. He further said that the suspects lured the victim to a large house in the village where the alleged assault took place.

According to the first information report (FIR) on the incident, a copy of which is available from Dawn.comthe victim was “nearly 18 years old”. It further states that, following a complaint by the victim’s grandfather, the police have registered a case against the suspects under sections 376 (3) (punishment for rape of minor or mentally or physically disabled person), 292 (c) (participating in or deriving profit from sale or sale of obscene books, etc.), 114 (instigator in commission of offence) and 34 (acts of several persons in pursuit of a common purpose).

A formal investigation into the incident has also been launched, it said.

Despite strict laws against rape, which can carry the death penalty or a prison sentence of ten to twenty-five years, cases of sexual harassment continue to occur throughout the country.

Data collected by the non-governmental organization Sahil shows that eleven children were abused every day in 2023. Most of the people involved in the heinous act were acquaintances and relatives.

The statistics were published in “Cruel Numbers 2023,” a publication by the NGO that works for the welfare of children and was released in late February with the support of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).

Geographical segregation statistics show that of the total 4,213 cases reported, 75 percent were reported from Punjab, 13 percent from Sindh, 7 percent from Islamabad Capital Territory, three percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and two percent from Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).