DADU: Relatives, friends and well-wishers accorded a warm welcome to Mohammad Ahmed Hussain Mashori, a student of class VIII at Cadet College, Larkana, and threw rose petals on him on his return home after about six-month-long treatment in the United States.

The 13-year-old Mashori was allegedly subjected to severe torture at the college by a teacher on Aug 10 last year that left him fighting for his life.

A welcome camp was set up at Johi Mor where a large crowd of students and teachers, social activists and general public gathered to throw rose petals on the caravan of Ahmed who was accompanied by his father Mohammad Rashid Mashori when he arrived from Karachi en route to his home in Dargah Mashori village in Larkana district.

The boy’s supporters had also pitched camps in Sehwan and Khairpur Nathan Shah towns to welcome Ahmed.

Speaking to well-wishers, the boy’s father recounted the tragedy that had befallen his son and said that after brutal torture at the hands of college staff, Ahmed had remained bedridden since Aug 10 last year.

He said that he had dropped his son at the college after the conclusion of summer vacations on Aug 6 and on Aug 10 he received the shock of his life through a phone call from house master G.M. Bhatti who informed him the college administration was planning to rush Ahmed to a hospital in Larkana in a serious condition.

He said that a 10-member medical board was formed by health ministry on the directives of Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah to investigate claims of torture and corporal punishment.

After the board found conclusive evidence of torture, Ahmed was sent on Feb 14, 2017, to the United States where he remained under treatment for about six months, said Rashid Mashori who was a primary school teacher.

All the expenses on the treatment were borne by the Sindh government and by the grace of Allah and prayers of people, his son had returned home properly recovered, he said.

Ahmed thanked all people for their prayers and vowed to continue his education.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2017