On Tuesday, a case was reportedly filed against a 40-year-old Madrassa teacher, Samsuddin Haji Suleman Jat, for raping a 19-year-old girl on four different occasions when she was a minor. The incident took place in Dhoro village of Nakhatrana taluka in Kutch district of Gujarat.
In her complaint, the victim stated that she was sent to the madrasa to learn Urdu and Arabic when she was 15-year-old.
Narrating her ordeal, the girl said that one day in 2015, the accused moulana gave his clothes to her for a wash and sent her to the bathroom after the class got over.
"The moulana immediately came from behind and raped me. He also threatened me not to disclose anything about the incident or else he would tarnish my character," the girl stated in her complaint.
The victim who had recently married in December 2019 was encouraged by her husband to file a rape complaint against Samsuddin at the Nara police station. As per the report, the victim was sent to the madarsa to learn Urdu and Arabic when she was 15. While she failed to remember the dates, she was able to recollect the years during which the heinous crime was committed.
The cops have booked Samsuddin under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IPC Sections for rape, and criminal intimidation. The police have sent a team to the Dhoro village to nab the perpetrator.
In a similar incident in June last year, a seminary teacher was arrested and sent to jail for allegedly raping his minor student at Naubasta area of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The victim was a student at a madrasa at Awas Vikas Hanspuram.
Later, a medical examination confirmed rape of the student. Police had also seized clothes of the cleric for forensic investigation.
According to the police, the accused cleric picked the student from her home on the pretext of filling her scholarship form and took her to the seminary and raped her. Police said that other students in the seminary were very scared following the incident.