Police have registered a case against a Nagpur madrasa teacher's male friend for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a minor boy, and rescued 10 children from the facility, officials said on Tuesday.
The madrasa, located in the Tajbagh area of Nagpur, housed 10 children, mostly from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, who were studying Arabic and Urdu, Sakkardara police station in-charge Ramesh Khune told PTI Videos.
The 26-year-old accused, a resident of Bihar and friend of the madrasa teacher, was visiting the facility and allegedly tried to sexually assault a 16-year-old boy while he was sleeping there in the wee hours of June 19, he said.
The boy woke up, freed himself, and informed the teacher about the incident the next morning. The teacher then questioned the accused and removed him from the premises, the official added.
Police said the boy had arrived at the madrasa only about a week earlier to pursue his studies. After being alerted, the police and the Child Welfare Committee sprang into action, and a case was registered against the accused on June 21 under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Efforts were on to nab the absconding accused, the official said.
Ten boys have been rescued from the madrasa and lodged at a child shelter home, the official said.
Maharashtra State Minority Commission Chairman Pyare Khan said it was a very serious matter.
As soon as he got the complaint, he immediately spoke to Nagpur's Joint Police Commissioner and sought immediate action, Khan said.
He said about 10 children came to him, and two of them claimed that "something wrong had happened to them".
"We asked the police to investigate the entire matter and bring out what actually happened. Some of the children were from Bihar, some were probably from Nagpur. I don't have full details, but some were from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. There were a total of ten children," he said.
The children were kept in a small, poorly maintained room, in very poor condition, the official said.
"There are other madrasas like this... these are not proper madrasas. There was a small room where 8 to 10 children were kept. It seems that even the 'modern madrasa' scheme of the government is being misused, and some officials are involved," he said.
"When officials give government money to a madrasa, it is their duty to verify that it is indeed a madrasa and that children are actually being taught there," Khan said.
Six months ago, the commission held a meeting with all the madrasa representatives (in the state) and instructed them not to bring in outside children.
"If parents bring their children and you educate them, that's one thing. But bringing children in, collecting donations in their name, and exploiting those children is a criminal offence. We are taking strict action against such madrasas," Khan said.
After a complete inquiry, the strictest action will be taken against those involved, the official said.
The Minority Commission will act on this case to ensure such incidents do not occur in Maharashtra again.
"We will inspect all madrasas that are bringing in children and collecting donations to see whether they are genuine," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)