July 26, 2024
By Bilal Baseer
HARIPUR
On Friday, July 26, a local court in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, granted bail to two madrassah teachers involved in a corporal punishment case with a student. A third teacher, arrested after the boy’s parents lodged a complaint, was granted interim post-arrest bail.
The development comes as police registered a criminal case under Sections 337 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with Section 34 of the KP Child Protection Welfare Act, 2010 against seminary teachers Qari Shahid, Qari Taimoor and Qari Faraz of Madressah Ishaat ul Quran in Karwala, Sarai Saleh, Haripur for beating an eight-year-old student named Hammad.
According to the FIR, eight-year-old Hammad was heading to his maternal aunt’s house on Tuesday, July 23, after skipping his morning classes when fellow students spotted him. Following the teachers’ instructions, they apprehended him and brought him before the teachers who then allegedly subjected him to torture with batons and pen nibs. They also kicked and punched him in a storeroom.
Hammad managed to escape in the evening, and reached his aunt’s house, where he complained of severe pain and bleeding. He was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Following a complaint by the victim and his father, Shakeel Ahmed, the Sarai Saleh police registered a case and conducted raids to arrest the suspects. Two of the accused managed to evade capture but one was arrested.
The victim’s family has claimed that they are facing threats of severe consequences after the registration of the FIR, and are being forced to settle the dispute.
Sources told Voicepk that a local jirga is intervening to resolve the dispute and is pressuring the victim’s family to reach a settlement by accepting money. The family is reportedly being threatened with social boycott if they do not comply.
“We have been offered Rs100,000 to drop the case and are being threatened with repercussions if we do not comply. But, we will keep pursuing the matter until we get justice,” vowed one of the victim’s family members who asked not to be named.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Investigation Haripur, Jamil ur Rehman, told Voicepk that following his direction and the medico-legal report, the police registered an FIR against the accused. Two of the suspects secured bail before arrest from the court, while one was apprehended and later presented before the concerned magistrate.
SP Rehman said that both the police and the KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission are involved in the case and will ensure the safety of the victim’s family to prevent any coercion into a settlement. He has called for the arrest of accused accomplices who threatened the victim’s family.