Warangal (AP) : A 12-year-old girl, the daughter of a labourer, was sexually assaulted by Mohd Sarvar Baig, 60, an imam (priest) of Ajmer Jama Masjid at Fort Warangal.
The incident took place in a deserted house near Ajmer Jama Masjid on Muharram, November 15, but came to light on Sunday when members of a local Self-Help Group (SHG) took the girl to the Mills Colony police station to lodge a complaint. The Imam has been leading devotees in prayer for the last decade, said sources.
Though the child informed her parents, they wanted to hush it up, fearing the wrath of community elders.
Since she got no help from her parents, eyewitnesses said that the victim visited houses of nearby residents seeking justice. Distressed by her plight, locals forced community elders to convene a panchayat. The panchayat decided to keep the case under wraps. However, a case was filed against the imam.
This was fiercely resisted by five women SHG members. “They (the five women SHG members) did not agree with the panchayat’s verdict and instead took the victim to Mills Colony police station,” a local resident told this newspaper.
The urban police have registered a case under stringent provisions of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 against the accused.
Speaking to this newspaper, Warangal Urban SP A. Venkateshwar Rao said that the accused was now in their custody.
“We have already sent the victim for medical examination to MGM hospital,” he said, adding that they have gone ahead with the registration of the case against the accused in spite of the reluctance of the victim’s parents.
Source : Asian Age
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