Seminary teacher gets life term in sexual assault case

MANSEHRA: The court of the additional session judge on Wednesday handed down life imprisonment to a seminary teacher who had sexually assaulted his student in the Perhana area on December 25, 2019.

“The judge has handed down the rigorous imprisonment of 14 years and a fine of Rs20,000 to the convict under section 53 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act 2020,” Bushra Zeb, the public prosecutor, told reporters outside the court.

The convict, Qari Shamsuddin, was also present in the courtroom when Additional Sessions Judge Ajmal Tahir, who is also the judge of the Juvenile Court, announced the verdict in the presence of the latter’s counsel and family members. Bushra Zeb said that if the convict defaulted on the fine money, he would also undergo confinement for another six months.

“The convict is also sentenced under section 337 of PPC and would also undergo two years imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs50,000 under section 337-Y (2) of PPC to the victim’s family,” she added. The public prosecutor said that the convict was awarded the sentence of overall 17 years imprisonment besides the total fine of Rs75,000.

The incident, which had taken place in the Madras-i-Taleemul Quran Thakara Parhana area of the Pulrah Police Station, had sparked protests across the Hazara Division and the rest of the country. The DNA analysis and medical report of the victim confirmed that he was sexually assaulted and his health deteriorated following which he was shifted to the Ayub Medical Complex Hospital in Abbottabad.

The police had also arrested his four co-accused including the elder brother of the convict, and the seminary’s owner after the incident came into the limelight. However, they were released by the court after the police could not present solid testimonials in the court of law at that time. The police had also lodged an FIR against JUIF leader Mufti Kifayatullah and his aide, Abdul Malik, under section 225/34 of PPC alleging they sheltered the accused before presenting him before the police but the latter had refuted charges.