LAHORE: The city police on Thursday registered a first information report (FIR) against Senior Naib Ameer of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Lahore Chapter Mufti Azizur Rehman after a video clip showing the cleric allegedly sodomizing one of his students went viral on social media.
The FIR was registered with North Cantt police station on the complaint of victim (S) under section 377 (unnatural offence) and section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Narrating his ordeal, the victim in the report, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, said he got admission in Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia in 2013 and continued his studies for some time. “During the exams of ‘Darja Rabia’, the cleric, who is almost 70-year-old, accused me and another student of cheating by getting someone else to sit for the exams. So Mufti Rehman banned me from giving exams at the Wafaqul Madaris for three years,” the victim added.
The complainant added that he requested the mufti to allow him sit for the exams. “But, Mufti Rehman said he may to think about it if he (victim) engages in sexual activities and ‘makes him happy,’” the boy said, adding that he had no choice but to surrender.
He said the mufti had assured him that he would lift the ban and he would also pass the victim in the exams. “But despite a lapse of three years, during which I was assaulted every Friday, Rehman did nothing. Instead, he started blackmailing,” the victim claimed.
The complainant further said he also complained to the seminary’s administration but they refused to believe him as, according to them, mufti Rehman was an “elderly and a pious man” and instead accused him of giving a false statement. “This was when I started recording the abuse and showed it to Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia Nazim. After this, mufti Rehman started hurling life threats,” he added.
The victim further said because of the audio and video recordings, the administration of Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia removed Mufti Rehman which angered him more. He added that he was now being threatened by Mufti Rehman and his sons and asked the authorities take action against his tormentor.
Meanwhile, a video message was also leaked on social media claiming the survivor that: “My attacker’s sons have threatened to kill me for exposing him (Mufti Aziz)”. The survivor shared that “he is hiding somewhere and believes he should better die out of embarrassment.”
Meanwhile, Mufti Aziz, whose membership has been suspended by his party, also issued a video statement denying his role in the video but also claiming that “it is part of a conspiracy to smear his name”. The cleric claimed that certain elements inside the seminary wanted to expel him, adding that “this video is fake as you cannot even see me moving in it”
“Where is my accuser? It has been two weeks since he (boy) was last seen. I was clearly drugged by this boy,” he goes on to detail in the video. The mufti pleaded his innocence reiterating that the boy in the video had drugged him and he was not in his senses.
On June 3, Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia chief organizer (Mohtamim) Asadullah Farooq after conducting a thorough inquiry into the matter along with other committee members of the seminary had removed Mufti Rehman after founding him guilty of the charges.
Meanwhile, Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) chairperson Sara Ahmed also took notice of the video and contacted the victim and his parents, the bureau said in a statement on Thursday. The chairperson termed the abuse as ‘extremely saddening’ and assured that the victim and his family would be provided justice and complete legal cooperation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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