Mansehra schoolteacher arrested for allegedly raping student: police – Pakistan

A schoolteacher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a female student and filming it, police told Dawn.com.

According to a first information report filed by the victim’s brother on March 10 — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — he received the video over Facebook Messenger and recognised his sister.

In the FIR, the complainant reported that his sister told him that the assault took place two years ago in a classroom at a government high school and that the teacher allegedly used the video as blackmail to silence her.

She further alleged that he assaulted other female students and recorded their ordeals as well.

The FIR was filed at Lassan Nawab police station under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) — read with Section 53 (sexual abuse) of the Child Protection Act (CPA) — and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Meanwhile, Mansehra District Police Officer Shafiullah Gandapur told Dawn.com that the suspect was arrested from a different high school in Mansehra today. “We arrested the suspect and recovered objectionable videos from his phone,” he added.

When asked why there was no press conference about the incident, the DPO responded by saying that the incident was a “sensitive issue” and that he was planning one.

“Teaching is a respectable profession, and that’s why we did not hold a press conference about the issue,” he told Dawn.com.

When contacted by Dawn.com for comment, Mansehra District Education Officer Maroof Khan confirmed the incident but downplayed it. “It is not a big issue … you media people have made it a big issue,” he said.