File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
The resident of Khairpur allegedly sodomized dozens of children at his tuition center
Sindh Police on Friday arrested a retired teacher after videos and pictures of him allegedly raping children in Khairpur went viral on social media.
According to two First Information Reports registered against accused Sarang Shar by the parents of two of his students, he was operating a tuition center in a private building. They allege that he sexually assaulted their children, adding that the accused had also videotaped the rapes. In addition to the rape charges, the accused has also been charged under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which says anyone found guilty of sodomizing a child under 16 would be punishable with death or life imprisonment, and a fine of at least Rs. 500,000.
According to local media, the suspect recently retired from his government job as a schoolteacher. Police said he was also accused of forcing his students to commit sodomy with each other and videotaping them to share with a “gang” that posted such videos on social media.
All the students attending Shar’s tuition center were aged 10-12 years old.
Local journalists have said the accused had been earlier implicated in criminal activity as well, with some reports alleging he faced unproven double-murder charges and others that he had been accused of rape. They have alleged that the accused is the father of an office-bearer of the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Advocate Raza Hussain, a lawyer who raised the issue on social media, told Express Tribune that while Sarang was a very influential person in the area, his crimes would not go unpunished. “We will go to court for the issue,” he said.
The horrifying circumstances of Shar’s case come in the backdrop of a report released by non-governmental organization Sahil in March that revealed that more than eight children reportedly suffered some form of abuse daily in Pakistan last year. According to the report, 778 child abductions, 405 missing children cases, 348 sodomy cases, 279 rape cases, 210 attempted rapes, 205 gang sodomy cases and 115 gang rapes had been reported across Pakistan in 2019.