Police in Raigad has arrested a Muslim cleric for allegedly molesting 3 minor girls in Karjat. The girls were aged between 5 to 12 years. The accused, identified as Hussain Rampurwala, delivers religious lectures to children at a Jamatkhana in Karjat, where the alleged crime took place.
The accused has been sent to police custody till Friday after a case was registered against him under section 354 of the IPC and the relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
The accused was arrested after the parents of an 11-year-old girl approached the police with their complaint on September 13. According to police, the parent of the girl had taught her about good touch and bad touch and when she realised that the cleric was trying to touch her inappropriately, she complained to her parents when she went back.
As per the complainant, the cleric was touching the girls from five years old to 12 years old inappropriately. Based on the complaint, the police arrested the cleric.
The cleric used to teach holy books to the girls from the age of 5 years to 12 years in the Jamatkhana. Police are checking with the other girls there to see if they had also faced abuse at the hands of the cleric.