An 11-year-old boy was sexually assaulted by three young men in Muslim Colony area of Taxila, police said on Friday.

The three alleged suspects were arrested during raids conducted at their homes, and cases were subsequently registered against them on a complaint by the victim's father, Station House Officer (SHO) Taxila Chaudhry Riaz told DawnNewsTV.

A medical examination of the six-grade student showed that he was subjected to rape, the SHO revealed.

The victim's father in his complaint to the police said that his 11-year-old son had gone to a nearby mosque to recite the Holy Quran on Thursday afternoon. As he was leaving the mosque after finishing his lesson, three young men forced him onto a motorbike and took him to a drawing room of one of the accused and took turns to rape him, the father alleged.

According to the father, the men allegedly threatened his son to kill him if he informed anyone about the assault, before letting him go home.

SHO Riaz said the three suspects do not have any jobs and are usually seen roaming the streets in the area. He said a medical examination would be performed on the three men and they will be presented in the court of the area magistrate tomorrow.

The victim's father while speaking to DawnNewsTV said his son appeared very frightened when he returned home but he eventually told him about the ordeal he suffered following which he had the first information report (FIR) registered.

After arresting the suspects, police registered a case (FIR no. 471/018) under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at Taxila Police Station.

Since the beginning of 2018, there has been a marked upsurge in the reporting of sexual abuse cases across Pakistan. The brutal rape and murder of Zainab Ansari in Kasur earlier this year in particular shocked the entire country, with #JusticeforZainab becoming the rallying cry in a nationwide drive to end violence against children.

The accused in the case was later sentenced to death and was also found to be involved in other cases of rape and murder in the area.