The Gulshan police have filed a case against the administration of the Autism Care and Rehabilitation Organisation, where an assistant was caught on CCTV torturing a ten- to twelve-year-old autistic boy.
On September 26, CCTV footage from an ACRO classroom was leaked to social media, showing a helper named Safia Naz hitting, grabbing and wrenching the ears of a ten- to twelve-year-old autistic boy. The small classroom was full of other children who were watching. ACRO took four days to go to the police to request a medico-legal examination. By October 2, the case was registered.
The case has been registered by the government’s Department of Empowerment Persons and Disabilities under the Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018 and the Pakistan Penal Code. Under the penal code, Section 328-A has been used as it refers to child cruelty. It carries a punishment of one to three years in prison and a fine of Rs25,000 to Rs50,000, or both. The second section applied is 337-A(1) (Shajjah-i-Khafifah) if someone injures a victim’s head or face in a way that does not expose the bone. This is punishable by up to two years in prison. You can apply for bail in both cases.
Read more: Gulshan Autism centre sacks assistant after CCTV leak reveals assault on child
Advocate Altaf Hussain Khoso of the Sindh High Court filed the case as the complainant, alleging that the helper subjected a child to physical abuse, and ACRO tried to cover it up. He is the chairman of Pakistan Legal United Society (PLUS), which provides legal assistance to persons with disabilities in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD), under the Sindh government. Khoso stated that this is the first FIR in seven years under the Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act.
No arrests have been made so far. “No one can be arrested merely based on an FIR without solid evidence,” said the case’s investigating officer, Inspector Mahboob Elahi, while speaking to The Express Tribune. “Digital evidence is admissible in court, but for that, we need to conduct a forensic analysis of the CCTV footage, which is only possible in Lahore, and this entire process will take time.”
The case was registered under the Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018, along with Sections 328-A/337-A(1) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Section 328-A refers to child cruelty and carries a punishment of one to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs25,000 to Rs50,000, or both. The second section applied was 337-A(1) (Shajjah-i-Khafifah), which pertains to an injury on the head or face that does not expose the bone, which is punishable by up to two years in prison. Both sections are bailable offences.
