Bus conductors who tortured special needs children get bail

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GEO NEWS
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LAHORE: Child Protection and Welfare Judge Abdul Mustafa Nadeem on Wednesday approved the bail of two men who tortured special needs children.

Last week, two conductors — Hafiz Usman and Akram — were caught on camera torturing children with disabilities on a school bus. 

The accused were arrested by the Ghalib Marke police and produced before the court, where both the parties informed the judge that they had reached an understanding.

Magistrate of the Model Town Court had excused from the hearing of the case, citing the reason that only an additional sessions judge can hear cases pertaining to children with special needs.

Caught on camera

In the video, shot from inside the bus and obtained from social media, the accused can be seen physically abusing a 12-year-old child and threatening another older child with a beating when he resisted leaving his seat on the school bus.

Both the victims, as well as their colleagues, are students at Gung Mahal School for the Deaf & Dumb — a government institute in Gulberg.

The child, 12, is forced to dangle from the bus' passenger support bar reportedly for some insignificant mischief, causing him to scream in fear, while Usman stands beside, laughing at the victim's agony.

As the cries for help continue, Usman can be observed inserting his finger into the child's mouth to make him gag and stop making a racket.

In another shot, Usman suspends the child upside down and chortles at his terrorised face.

Towards the end of the clip, Akram comes into the frame and can be seen threatening another child — who had resisted leaving his seat in the bus and via hand gestures, promised to tell his parents about the incident — by saying he would beat him up if the child complained.

In trying to intimidate the obviously distressed child, Akram slaps him across the face.

The incident of torture came to the school principal's attention, whereafter both bus conductors were suspended from duty.

Earlier, police had said they would make sure the perpetrators of such inhumane activities are punished in accordance with the law.