A 30-year-old teacher of a Madarasa was on Tuesday sentenced by a special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to five years in prison for inappropriately touching two ten-year-old students during classes.
The court in its judgment said that the accused was entrusted with the noble work of teaching the Quran and people had faith in him, which he took advantage of to commit heinous offences against the victim girls.
It also said that the offences proved against Atikur Rehaman Ansari are serious in nature and that at the time of the incident the girls were only 10-years-old and that they have to carry that mental trauma throughout their lives.
Appearing before the court two victims - both of whom were his students, had testified. One of them, whose mother had made the police complaint, had told the court that the accused, also called Janab, had on the day of the incident given students writing work. When she was doing the work, he had slipped his hand through the slit in her dress and inappropriately touched her private parts. She said he had done so on numerous occasions. Though she had told about it to her friends, she was afraid to tell her mother as she feared her mother would stop her from going to the madrasa. She further testified that she had seen him misbehaving with two other girls as well during the classes.
The second victim also testified regarding the man inappropriately touching her, making her sit on his lap as well as having seen him misbehave with the complainant’s daughter - her friend and another girl.
The matter had come to light when the complainant noticed that her daughter was making excuses since some days to avoid going to the madarasa. She also observed that her daughter would not eat well and be quiet. One particular day, when she asked the child to get ready for the madarasa, she had refused and started crying. She revealed her ordeal when taken into confidence.
