Perod Saqafi booked for abusive speech against girl child

Kozhikode, Nov 23: Perod Abdurahiman Saqafi, the secretary of the All India Sunni Jam-Iyyathul Ulema, has strongly defended his abusive remarks against a four-and-a-half-year-old girl, who had been allegedly raped by two senior students last month.

The police have registered a case against Mr Saqafi, who is one of the senior administrative board members of the Parakkadavu Darul Huda English Medium School, where the girl child was sexually assaulted on October 30. The case was registered under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) and Section 201 (punishment for giving false information to screen the offender) of the Indian Penal Code. He was also charged under Section 23 (Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child) of the Juvenile Justice Act.

However, Mr Saqafi, who one of the close associates of Kanthapuram A P Aboobakar Musaliar, insisted that he had stated nothing wrong in his “clarification speech” delivered on November 11 at the same school.

Mr Saqafi had apparently insulted the child in his speech saying “If such a thing (sexual assault) happened, girl should have died, fainted, should have been covered with blood or should have at least screamed…”

Mother shocked

The mother of the victim has expressed shock over the abusive remarks by Mr Saqafi. “No human being can tolerate such abusive words against a girl child. He is an inhuman cleric. He should be punished for this crime. He is shielding the rapists,” she said. In his complaint, the girl's father has accused Mr Saqafi of tarnishing the image of the girl child and her family.

Two arrested

It was on October 30 that the sexual assault against the kindergarten student reportedly occurred. The incident came to light after the girl complained of nausea and pain. Two senior students of the school were arrested on November 15 in connection with the incident. They were charged under IPC 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Conspiracy

Meanwhile, the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF), the students' wing of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, has accused a Congress Minister of trying to scuttle the probe into the sexual assault on the girl child.

The office-bearers of the organisations owing allegiance to the E K Sunni faction alleged that this Congress leader from north Kerala had hatched a conspiracy to help the school management. They also accused Mr Saqafi of trying to suppress the incident and exert pleasure on girl's family.

The Sunni organisations demanded either a judicial inquiry or a probe by a special investigation team monitored by the High Court into the incident. The police should interrogate Mr Saqafi and his aides in the school to bring out the truth, they said.