Khairpur man acquitted in child abuse case 'goes missing'

A schoolteacher in Khairpur — recently acquitted in a case of sexually abusing a child — has gone missing and days have passed with no information about his whereabouts, his family said. 

The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge-IV, Khairpur, acquitted the man, Sarang Sher, on April 29, with sources informing Geo News that the DNA reports of the teacher and the child did not match.

The schoolteacher's family members have said that although the court had acquitted Sher and no further case has been registered against him, they are not aware of his whereabouts.

The family alleged that "policemen in plain clothes forcefully" took Sher into custody and they fear that they might injure or kill him in a "fake encounter".

His son, Aslam Sher, said the police have no record of his arrest, while Senior Superintendent of Police Khairpur Raheel Khoso said he was not aware of the detention.

A video of the teacher had gone viral on social media two years ago in which he could be seen allegedly sexually assaulting his student at his house in Khairpur's Thari Mirwah.

Afterwards, police registered three cases — including clauses related to terrorism — against Sher on the complaint of the child's father. However, an anti-terrorism court had removed the terrorism clauses and transferred the case to a district and session judge. Later, he was acquitted.

Sources said that not only did the child's DNA not match, but the teacher and the child's father had reached an agreement outside the court.

Following the acquittal, a picture of Sher outside the Khairpur court wearing a garland around his neck went viral, leading to renewed calls for action against him.

In response, the Sindh government instructed the province's prosecutor general to file an appeal against the acquittal of the teacher.