Two shocking cases of sexual exploitation of young children at the hands of Islamic preachers have come to light in the state of Kerala. In the first incident, three madrasa teachers one of whom is from Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested by Nedumangad police. On 18 November, the authorities informed that were arrested on charges of sexual assault on minor students.
The accused were identified as 24-year-old L Siddique from Kadackal Kanjirathummoodu Bismi Bhavan, 28-year-old S Muhammed Shameer from Jasmin Villa near Karibah Auditorium and 30-year-old Muhammad Rasalal Haq from Ganeshpur in Uttar Pradesh Kheri district. The three used the pretence of a madarsa to exploit the youngsters and expose them to unnatural sexual violations.
The operation was undertaken after a complaint was lodged by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The Juvenile Justice Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and pertinent Indian Penal Code sections were invoked to register the case against the culprits.
They have spent the last year operating a madrasa in Nedumangad. District Superintendent of Police Kiran Narayanan oversaw the arrest of the offenders after Kattakkada Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) N Shibu, Nedumangad Station House Officer (SHO) A Sunil, Sub-Inspector (SI) Suresh Kumar, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Shaji, Rajith, Senior Civil Police Officers (SCPO) C Biju, Deepa and Civil Police Officer (CPO) Ajit Mohan received a tip from the CWC about their horrific crimes against the victims who were attending the institution for religious studies. The trio was sent on remand after being presented in court.
Meanwhile, The Vazhikadavu Police nabbed an Islamic preacher named Puthukkadavu Muhammad Shakir also known as Shakir Baquavi Mampad in Malappuram on 22 November after he was accused of molesting a young kid for a year.
The youngster told his teacher about the abuse on 21 November and after receiving a complaint, cops acted promptly to make an arrest. Manoj Parayatta, Station House Officer of Vazhikadavu Police informed, “We received the complaint against Shakir on Tuesday. The boy told his teacher about the abuse from Shakir. We wasted no time and nabbed him from his house.”
The assault continued for a year and the perpetrator also threatened the victim to keep the horrible occurrences a secret. Furthermore, the investigative squad is going to probe the culprit’s possible prior involvement in a similar crime. He’s been placed under judicial custody and the boy would receive counseling at the school, according to the officials.
The preacher has a strong social media following, with more than 23,000 Facebook followers and over 8,000 YouTube subscribers. His lectures are centred around religion and family.
