Madrassa teacher held on charges of sexually abusing boys in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: A 23-year-old madrassa teacher Rehan was on Thursday arrested on charges of sexually assaulting six minor boys of the institute. Police said the boys, aged between 10 and 12, were allegedly abused over the past few months.

Rehan was arrested after a complaint was filed against him on April 29 by the parents of some of the victims who had informed them about the assault. Rehan taught Arabic at the madrassa. A case under IPC section 377 (unnatural offences) and other provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against him.

The teacher has been remanded to judicial custody by a court. Meanwhile, police are conducting further investigation into the matter.

The arrest comes on a day when the Juvenile Justice Board said that an accused held in connection with the rape of a 10-year-old girl inside a madrassa in Ghaziabad will be tried as an adult. The board also said that the bone ossification test report indicated he was not a juvenile. The accused was initially suspected to be a 17-year-old.

The girl's father said that their daughter was scared and traumatised. "She told us that she was taken to the madrassa where she was offered water. She lost consciousness after having water and when she woke up, her clothes were wet. She is quite scared and is unable to talk much," he said. She had said the accused had taken her to the madrassa to meet his friends.

The police were informed on April 21 by the girl's father that she had gone missing from Ghazipur in east Delhi after she went to the market. Subsequently, the girl was rescued from the madrassa on April 22 by a Delhi Police team and the "juvenile" apprehended.