Aug 09 , 2015
News
CM orders judicial inquiry in Kasur child abuse case
Police arrests another suspect involved in selling illicit videos
INPKASUR – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered a judicial inquiry into the Kasur child abuse scandal.
The chief minister directed the Punjab home department to request the Lahore High Court Chief Justice Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik to immediately form a commission made up of the district and the session judges to conduct the inquiry, said a press release issued by the Punjab Directorate-General Public Relations.
“Those involved in the case will be severely punished. They will not be able to escape their fate. The victim families will be provided with justice at any cost,” he said. Earlier a joint investigation team (JIT) was formed under the leadership Lahore Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal and Punjab Additional Inspector-General Operations Arif Nawaz Khan to investigate the case.
A report submitted by the JIT states that six people have been arrested in connection with the case, while three suspects are absconding. Raids are being conducted to capture the fleeing suspects.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed while speaking to the press on Sunday said that his party would submit a condemnation resolution in the Punjab Assembly. He said that the PTI would hold protests against the scandal and will not rest until those responsible for the incident are not brought to justice.
“This incident is a failure of the government. There is no land dispute, that is a separate matter which has nothing to do with the sexual abuse of children,” he said. “There should be a complete inquiry into the incident and the judicial commission ordered by the chief minister should initiate its probe immediately,” he said.
The PTI leader said that the chief minister should also take note of intimidatory tactics employed by the police in the area. “No one's lives and property are safe in Punjab,” he added. Police said on Sunday that they have arrested another suspect involved in producing and selling illicit videos of child sexual abuse in Kasur, bringing to seven the number of arrests in a massive child sex abuse scandal that has shocked the nation.
The suspect belongs to a gang of criminals which has reportedly been actively involved for the last 10 years in countless cases of extreme child sexual abuse in Ganda Singh Wala area of Kasur. Investigations revealed that around 400 videos were made of 280 minor victims of sex abuse by the gang of over 25 criminals.
Several parents of victims were consistently blackmailed and coerced to pay hundreds of thousands of rupees as they were threatened that the gang would release the videos in public. Reports said families in the locality were helpless as officials all along remained apathetic to the incident.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk