Kasur (Pakistan), Aug. 10: As the nationwide outrage over a child sex abuse scandal rose to a crescendo, a principal accused in the case was present when the crimes were committed and filmed in a classroom of the academy where he and those captured in the clips studied.

According to details, a gang of 20 to 25 men had allegedly filmed as many as 400 videos of sexual abuse involving at least 280 children belonging to Hussain Khan Wala village in Kasur, one of the main cities of Punjab province.

The police said they all the accused who confessed to forcing children into sex and then filming the act. "We have recovered CDs of porn videos, cellphones and memory cards from the accused," a local senior police officials said, adding "The scope of investigation will be widened."

Regional police chief Shehzad Sultan, however, disputed the claim that 280 children were sexually abused on tape. "Eight cases had been registered against 15 accused on eight complaints within the month of July," he told a news conference.

He said the scandal first surfaced in June, prompting a police team to visit the village. The team made announcements on the loudspeakers of the local mosque, asking villagers to come forward and lodge their complaints, if they have any. "Despite several announcements only eight complainants came forward," he added. "Had there been 280 cases [of child abuse], there would have been a deluge of complainants."

The sickening scandal which went viral on social media has triggered a nationwide outrage with politicians calling for action against the culprits. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq travelled to Hussain Khan Wala village on Sunday where he appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the scandal.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also promised on Sunday "exemplary punishment" for the culprits, while his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who is chief minister of Punjab province ordered a judicial inquiry into what is being called on social media a national shame.

Meanwhile, the principal accused, Haseem, 25, said he was innocent because none of the films seized by police showed him indulging in any abuse. When asked whether he used to film the child abuse, he said he would sit in the classroom where his classmates would commit the crime.

He claimed that he and others had been implicated in the case because some people wanted to grab 16.50 acres of land his family had purchased.