67-year-old teacher arrested for ‘raping’ 9-year-old girl in Delhi
The Delhi Police said the incident took place on Sunday but was reported to them only on Tuesday when the accused, Zakir Alam, was arrested
New Delhi
A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped on Sunday at a madrasa in outer Delhi’s Bawana JJ Colony by a 67-year-old man who ran the educational institution, police said on Wednesday.
The teacher was arrested and he confessed, the police said.
The girl suffered injuries to her private parts and had been bleeding. But she remained quiet because the teacher had allegedly threatened to kill her parents if she told anybody about it, said her family members.
The crime came to light on Tuesday after a neighbour found blood stains on the girl’s clothes and alerted her family. She was admitted to Dr Baba Sahib Ambedkar Hospital where she is undergoing treatment. Her condition is stable, police said.
In her statement, she told police that on Sunday, around 7 pm, the teacher locked himself with her in a room at the madrasa and gave her a Rs 5 coin after other students left. He allegedly pushed her onto the bed and raped her.
“When she screamed, the hafiz (teacher) shut her mouth with his hand. He slapped her two-three times and hit her hand with a pair of tongs. The teacher raped her and then asked her to return home. He threatened he will kill her parents if she told anybody about it,” said the girl’s aunt, who lives in the neighbourhood.
The aunt said her niece had not informed anybody about the crime until Tuesday afternoon when a woman in the neighbourhood saw blood on her clothes.
“I initially ignored it, thinking my niece would have hurt herself while playing. In the evening, my niece complained about pain in her lower abdomen. I panicked when I saw blood on her clothes,” said the aunt.
The aunt informed the girl’s father and they took the child to a local doctor, who suspected sexual assault and asked them to admit her at a bigger hospital.
A neighbour called the women helpline number 181 and reported the crime. Around midnight, a police team reached and admitted the child to Dr Baba Sahib Ambedkar hospital.
Rajneesh Gupta, deputy commissioner of police (Rohini), said, “A case under relevant sections of protection of children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered and the teacher, Mohammad Zakir Alam, was arrested.”
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal met the girl and her family at the hospital on Wednesday.
“Feeling sick to the core. Seeing child rape survivor is gut wrenching. Her eyes, her pain, her trauma is inexpressible. Nine-year-old rape survivor has suffered severe injuries. Who is responsible? Both system and society — for its their deafening silence which ensures status quo (sic),” Maliwal tweeted after meeting the girl.
The girl lives with her parents, three siblings and other family members in a slum. She is a Class 3 student at a local government school. Her father is a rag picker while the mother is mentally disabled.
Locals told police that Alam was individually running the madrasa for the past five years.