KARACHI — Police have booked the administration of the Autism Care and Rehabilitation Organisation (ACRO) in Karachi’s Gulshan area after shocking CCTV footage emerged showing a classroom helper physically assaulting a young autistic student.
The disturbing video, leaked on September 26, captured a helper identified as Safia Naz repeatedly striking a boy aged between 10 and 12, pulling his ears and grabbing him aggressively. The incident unfolded in a classroom full of children, many of whom witnessed the abuse in silence.
Despite the gravity of the footage, ACRO management reportedly delayed action, waiting four days before approaching police to request a medico-legal examination. The case was formally registered on October 2.
According to officials, the FIR was lodged under the Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018, as well as Sections 328-A and 337-A(1) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Section 328-A pertains to cruelty to a child, punishable with one to three years in prison and a fine ranging between Rs25,000 and Rs50,000. Section 337-A(1), dealing with injuries to the head or face that do not expose the bone, carries a maximum sentence of two years. Both are bailable offences.
Advocate Altaf Hussain Khoso of the Sindh High Court, who heads the Pakistan Legal United Society (PLUS), filed the case as the complainant. He alleged that ACRO attempted to cover up the abuse, stressing that this was the first FIR in seven years under the Sindh disability rights law. PLUS, in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD), has been providing legal assistance to families in such cases.
So far, no arrests have been made. “An FIR alone is not enough grounds for immediate arrest without concrete evidence,” said Inspector Mahboob Elahi, the case’s investigating officer. He explained that while digital evidence is admissible in court, forensic verification of the CCTV footage is required a process that can only be carried out in Lahore and is expected to take time.
The case has raised serious questions about oversight at special care institutions, with activists urging stronger safeguards for children with disabilities to ensure such abuse does not go unchecked.
