Mumbai: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Monday sentenced a 49-year-old maulvi of a Ghatkopar mosque to six years rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child.
The matter came to light when the child and her friends wrote a letter to their school teacher, describing her ordeal.
The Special Judge under the POCSO Act, MA Baraliya, has also imposed a fine of Rs. 15,000 on the man and directed that it be paid as compensation to the child.
The child used to go to the mosque after school hours to learn Arabic. As per the prosecution’s case, Mohammad Abrarul Haq Nizamuddin Shaikh had been sexually assaulting the child for more than a month before the complaint was filed. However, the child had not told her parents about it, as he had threatened that he would kill her mother if she revealed anything.
The matter came to light through a letter the child and her friends wrote and gave to their school teacher.
The teacher deposed before court that she informed the girl’s mother about the matter after she read the children’s letter and confirmed with the child that its contents were true. The child’s parents then took their daughter to the mosque where she identified the maulvi. They then lodged a police complaint.
The child, who was in class 6 when she deposed before court, said that the incident took place when she was in Class 4. ‘Janab ji’ was not treating her properly, she said, adding that he used to touch her private parts after sending other students out and making her stay in his room.
The child’s friend, who had written the letter, also deposed as a witness. She told the court that her friend had made the revelation to her and other friends, and that they had written a letter to their teacher as they were not able to communicate it verbally to her.
Contd. on P9: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Monday sentenced a 49-year-old maulvi of a Ghatkopar mosque to six years rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child.
The matter came to light when the child and her friends wrote a letter to their school teacher, describing her ordeal.
The Special Judge under the POCSO Act, MA Baraliya, has also imposed a fine of Rs. 15,000 on the man and directed that it be paid as compensation to the child.
The child used to go to the mosque after school hours to learn Arabic. As per the prosecution’s case, Mohammad Abrarul Haq Nizamuddin Shaikh had been sexually assaulting the child for more than a month before the complaint was filed. However, the child had not told her parents about it, as he had threatened that he would kill her mother if she revealed anything.
The matter came to light through a letter the child and her friends wrote and gave to their school teacher.
The teacher deposed before court that she informed the girl’s mother about the matter after she read the children’s letter and confirmed with the child that its contents were true. The child’s parents then took their daughter to the mosque where she identified the maulvi. They then lodged a police complaint.
The child, who was in class 6 when she deposed before court, said that the incident took place when she was in Class 4. ‘Janab ji’ was not treating her properly, she said, adding that he used to touch her private parts after sending other students out and making her stay in his room.
The child’s friend, who had written the letter, also deposed as a witness. She told the court that her friend had made the revelation to her and other friends, and that they had written a letter to their teacher as they were not able to communicate it verbally to her.
The child’s mother told the court that the man was molesting other students, too. Special Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma said that the letter was handwritten with a pencil by the child’s friend. The letter, in which the children had narrated what was happening to their friend, was produced as evidence in court.
