LAHORE: An elderly cleric was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a student in a seminary in Pakistan's Punjab province, a senior police officer said.
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) of Punjab police arrested Mufti Azizur Rehman, a cleric of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), during a raid in Mianawali, some 340-km from Lahore.
"We have been able to arrest this criminal.
We will take it as a test case, interrogate him, conduct scientific professional investigation, prosecute and get him convicted by the court.
We want our kids protected from these child molesters and keep our society safe for our future," Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani tweeted along with a picture of the accused cleric behind bars.
The suspect will be produced before a local court on Monday.
Police also arrested two sons of Rehman for threatening the victim.
Both of them have been booked for criminal intimidation.
Earlier, police had registered a case against Rehman after a harrowing video clip of him allegedly sexually assaulting one of his students was widely shared on social media.