In a shocking incident in Kasaragod district of Kerala, a 16-year-old minor girl was brutally gang-raped by seven people, including her own father, who is a teacher at a local madarsa.
According to the reports, the Nileshwaram police on Monday arrested a 50-year-old man, a madarsa teacher, for sexually abusing his 16-year-old daughter repeatedly over the past two years. Six other people have also been charged under the POCSO Act for sexually abusing the girl.
Three of them, 19-year-old Riyas, 20-year-old Ijaz and 20-year-old Mohammed Ali, have already been arrested by the police.
The incident was reported after the maternal uncle of the victim lodged a complaint at the Nileshwaram police station. The victim in her statement accused her father of molesting and raping her for over three years.
Victim was made to undergo abortion
PR Manoj, the investigating officer said the girl was impregnated and underwent an illegal abortion two months ago. The senior police added that the doctor who performed the abortion is also under investigation as he failed to report the crime.
Reportedly, the police are probing whether the victim’s mother was aware of the incident but did not to reach out to the police.
“There may be more accused persons. We have only completed our preliminary investigation,” said officer Manoj.
The relatives of the victim stood by her and encouraged her to approach the police against her father and other abusers. The Child Welfare Committee will now be responsible for the girl. The house will be declared unsafe for children and she would be provided with counselling and support.
Madrasa teacher was a repeat offender
According to the police, the accused Madarsa teacher was a repeat sexual offender and was accused of sexually assaulting four minor boys in 2017. Though four cases were registered against him under the POCSO Act, he had received bail as the legal proceedings dragged on in court.
The accused belongs to Sulliya in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and has another wife and five children there. He came to Kasaragod to teach in the madarsa. The police officials said he was sacked from a madarsa earlier after he was accused of rape.
