Over 45 women fell victim to Karachi school principal, says IO

• Police seal principal’s office; forensics to be carried out. 
• FIR includes provisions for sexual harassment, threatening, and blackmailing.
• Information about more suspects has come to the fore, says IO. 

KARACHI: More than 45 women fell victim to the school principal who was arrested over the alleged rape and blackmail allegations, said the investigation officer (IO) on Tuesday. 

A day earlier, the police arrested the principal — who is an employee of a private school in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Hadeed area — for allegedly raping and blackmailing several women. 

The head of the school used closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to blackmail the victims while police also recovered 25 such short video clips from his cellphone.

It is pertinent to know that the scandal emerged after an obscene video of the principal and a female teacher circulated on the internet.

The investigating authorities said that the office of the principal had been sealed and a forensics will be carried out. Meanwhile, the accused identified as Irfan Ghafoor Memon is sent to jail on a seven-day physical remand. 

The accused told the police that he had rented the school in December for Rs100,000 per month. He added that there are about 10 female teachers, five male teachers and about 250 students in the school. 

The police said that the case had been registered at the Steel Town police station on the complaint of the state.

The first information report (FIR) includes provisions for sexual harassment, threatening, and blackmailing, said the IO. He added that the principal under the pretext of giving jobs would sexually abuse the teachers. 

“The accused used to blackmail the women by filming videos,” it added. 

The investigating authorities also added that the DVR of the CCTV cameras has been taken as evidence while his mobile phone will also be examined. 

The IO also said that a victim contacted him whose statement will be recorded. He further said that the case is being investigated by a high-level committee.

The officer also said information about more suspects has come to the fore who have the DVR and videos with them. He assured that the police would arrest two suspects by tonight. 

Assistant Commissioner Nazir Abro, while speaking to Geo News, said that the district administration will also investigate the incident. He added that they would contact the education department so that the students could continue their studies.