Vazhakkad police arrested Oorkadavu native V Siddique Ali (43) on Thursday (22nd February) under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children Against Child Sexual Offences) in connection with the drowning of a 17-year-old girl in the Chaliyar River at Vettathur near Muttungal Kadavu. The girl was discovered dead in the river near her home at 8 pm on Monday (19th February).
Relatives and residents in the vicinity had been searching for the missing adolescent since 6 pm when they discovered her body in a shallow portion of the river. The body was undressed. According to the reports, some witnesses observed two strangers near the location where the body was discovered on the day of the tragedy. The family stated that the situation in which the body was discovered did not appear to be the result of suicide.
According to the victim’s family’s complaint, when the neighbours confronted them, they drove away without disclosing their faces, raising suspicions.
The girl excelled academically. She was also involved in extracurricular activities. She took karate classes and had a black belt in Karate. According to the family, she was routinely harassed and sexually abused by her karate teacher. In addition, the family stated that the victim would never commit suicide. They stated the girl was motivated to fight for justice despite being under a lot of stress. The girl was not going to Karate classes for two weeks due to the harassment by the teacher.
Meanwhile, the victim’s sisters said Siddique has raped other girls too and is accused in two other POCSO cases. “When we confronted him about what he did to our sister, he avoided us, but later confessed to having committed a mistake,” they were quoted as saying.
The sister stated that the teacher sexually exploited many other girls who came to learn karate from him. She also said that he used to cross physical boundaries in the name of karate lessons.
“When joining his karate class, he said that he is their guru and God and that their body and mind should be surrendered to the guru for his satisfaction. He also said the guru can know his disciples by touching their chest and that they shall attain success only through him,” the sister said.
Earlier the victim had filed a complaint with the Kozhikode Child Welfare Office in September, documenting the abuse she had to face. Kondotty police responded to the report. However, when the police went to record the girl’s statement, she was unable to speak. The 17-year-old, who received high scores on her Class 10 examinations, dropped out of school in Plus One.