New Delhi: Cops in Gujarat’s Junagadh district on Saturday arrested a teacher and a trustee of a madrasa after students flagged sodomy, harassment, and intimidation on campus.
The duo, Mufti Dawood Fakeera, 52 and main accused Maulana Abbas, 25 have been taken in police remand for three days while sources in the force suggested that others may be involved in the sexual assault of the boys.
The Mangrol police were alerted to the crime by a 17-year-old student who registered his complaint on 21 October. This prompted a first information report (FIR) the same day, which led to the arrests of Fakeera and Abbas on various charges of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
They have been charged under Section 377 that deals with unnatural intercourse, Section 323 for assault and Section 506(2) for criminal intimidation.
The FIR also invoked relevant provisions of POCSO, including Section 4 that decides punishment on offences of sexual harassment of children.
Junagadh Superintendent of Police Harshad Mehta told ThePrint that his force had responded “very proactively and promptly” to the complaint. “Legal action is being taken. The police will ensure that there is no further negative impact on any child due to this incident,” Mehta said.
Complaint by 17-year-old was tip of the iceberg
As soon as the boy came in with his mother and filed the complaint on 21 October, the FIR was filed, the police said and a team constituted in the Mangrol Police Station to thoroughly probe the matter.
As the investigation progressed, other boys in the institution that teaches 700 to 800 students mustered the courage to come forward with stories of their ordeals, the police said.
A source familiar with the probe told ThePrint that cops have so far invoked Section 377 against the duo in the case of three boys but have identified a total of seven victims.
ThePrint has also learnt that there is only one FIR in the case so far.
Both accused gave the police the slip as officers closed in on the madrasa on 21 October. While Dawood Fakeera was arrested locally a few hours later, Abbas held out longer as he had fled the district.
The perpetrator was traced to Surat after the Junagadh Crime Branch put his phone under surveillance, and was immediately arrested.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)