Gang Abuse of Children Is Claimed in Pakistan

Mangalore Today News Network

Pakistan, Aug 10, 2015:  Pakistani officials have initiated an investigation into allegations that a gang of men sexually abused more than 200 children and sold videos of the abuse.

 

The accusations have rocked the country, drawing the attention and condemnation of human rights activists and politicians in a case that involved subjects long considered taboo here.

At least 280 children under the age of 14 from three villages in eastern Punjab province were said to have been subjected to sexual abuse by a gang of 15 men, who made videos to extort money from the children and their parents. Seven of the accused have been arrested, police officials said Sunday.

The accusations of abuse started trickling out last month as victims began to report it to the police, and last Tuesday, hundreds of residents staged a protest, accusing the police and local politicians of protecting the gang members and ignoring the accusations. Some of the protesters clashed with the police, and dozens of people were injured, including several police officers.

On Saturday, details of the abuse were carried by The Nation, a Lahore-based English-language newspaper, which reported that the gang members had drugged and intoxicated their victims, some as young as 6, and had recorded hundreds of videos. Some of the children stole jewelry and money from their parents to pay the men to stop them from making the videos public, according to the reports.

Provincial officials in Punjab played down the scale of the abuse and said that only seven cases had been registered by the police so far and that they were in possession of only 30 videos.

"This group was active since 2007 when they were school students," Shahzad Sultan, a senior police official said on Sunday, referring to the suspects. He said most of the videos involved consensual sex between teenagers.

But Muhammad Ashraf, the father of one of the accusers, who filed a police complaint on Sunday, said his son, 20, was abused as a student five years ago, but did not tell the family at the time.

He said his son "used to steal money and some valuables, and says he used to give it to the blackmailers."

 

Courtesy: NDTV