Ten days after a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted, the accused, an Imam is still absconding while the medical reports of the victim confirmed that she was assaulted, the deputy superintendent of police of Nedumangad in Thiruvanathapuram told The News Minute.
A case has been registered against Shafeeq Al Qasimi, the former chief Imam (cleric) of a rural mosque at Tholicode near Thiruvananthapuram, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for luring the girl to an isolated forest area and allegedly sexually assaulting her last week, police said, as reported by PTI.
The incident came to light after a group of local women had confronted the cleric after seeing him with the school-going girl in the forest, they said, adding that the cleric was absconding since then.
Case is Politically Motivated, Says Imam in Bail Plea
The Imam on Thursday, 14 February, moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail and claimed that the case against him was "false" and "politically motivated."
"The present case is politically motivated and instituted at the instance of the president of the mosque committee who belongs to the CPI (M)," he said in his anticipatory bail plea.
According to The News Minute, the accused is known to have taken the victim into his car and driven to an isolated area in Vithura, where he sexually assaulted her.
The Vithura Police said that on 8 February, they had approached the victim and her family members but they had denied giving a statement.
However, on 14 February, the victim narrated her ordeal before the Child Welfare Committee, said an official. The police recorded the girl's statement in Thiruvananthapuram.
The CWC told The News Minute that they are protecting the victim under the Child in Need of Care and Protection (Section 2 of Juvenile Justice) and the details of the deposition could not be revealed for the same reason.
Rumours of Consensual Relationship
Some reports also suggest that the relationship between the victim and the Imam were consensual.
“Any kind of sexual activity with a child with or without the consent amounts to abuse. As per law, any kind of sexual relationships with a minor is banned in India and is a punishable offence.”Advocate Sandhya to The News Minute
As a religious orator, he used to speak at the platforms of the SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India), a rival political party, it said.
He alleged that the girl was being repeatedly tortured and persuaded to give “false statement” against him.
Qasimi also said he was ready to cooperate with the investigation but apprehended custodial torture in the event of arrest. A manhunt is on to nab the absconding cleric, police said.
The girl and her family were yet to submit a former complaint against the cleric and the POCSO case was registered against him on 12 February based on the mosque committee's statement.
(With inputs from The News Minute and PTI)
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