A 34-year-old maulvi in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur has been arrested for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting 5 young girls aged 5-9 at a madrassa.
The accused, identified as Shabbir Raja, a resident of Pilibhit, used to teach Urdu to children in the madrassa.
Raja reportedly threatened the girls that he could unleash Jinn to harm their parents if they did not comply with his demands.
As per police, he would also take the girls one by one inside his room and make them watch porn on his phone before molesting them.
The case came to light on August 16, 2024, when one of the victims disclosed her ordeal to her mother, who lodged a complaint the following day.
SSP Manjunath TC, said, "In the complaint, one girl's mother alleged that apart from her daughter, the maulvi Shabbir Raja sexually assaulted four more girls."
The police official stated that the maulvi is suspected of abusing more girls. Raja had reportedly been committing these crimes for nearly two months.
Raja would dismiss older male students early, often after punishing them under the pretext of not completing their homework, and then send older girls home with extra assignments. He would then keep the younger girls behind for "extra classes" during which the assaults occurred, the police said.
Raja has been booked under several sections, including those of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Authorities have requested a child welfare commission to counsel the survivors and their parents, anticipating that more victims may reveal similar experiences in the coming days.