By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
On September 14, a science exhibition was held in the premises of Azaan International School, Towli Chowki, where all the teachers and staff were present. Taking advantage of this, Mohammed Jeelani the supervisor of the school since 2014, allegedly lured a four and a half year old girl with a chocolate and took her to the toilet of the first floor where he sexually assaulted her.
When the father brought her home from school, the little girl complained of pain in her private parts and when her mother undressed the girl she saw the injured bleeding vagina and was shaken. When asked, the girl told her mother that Jeelani uncle did this to her. So the shocked and furious parents immediately went to the school and along with one of the teachers rushed her to the closest hospital.
After primary treatment the doctor there advised them to go Niloufer Hospital run by the Government as it was a police case; they went back to the school where the girl narrated the nightmare and identified Jeelani as the rapist.
Hoping the school to take action the parents took the girl to Niloufer hospital where the girl was admitted in the emergency ward and treated. A surgery was performed to repair the damaged parts of the girl.
Inaction of school authorities and public fury:
The school headmistress allegedly took no action from her side even after the girl identified the culprit one of their staff members right in front of her. It is also alleged that they tried to hush up the incident. It was the parents who filed a complaint at 6 pm and a FIR was thereupon issued.
By this time the news became public, many parents and others gathered at the school to protest but the school was locked. The mob broke open the gate and rushed in shouting slogans. Police had to use mild lathi charge to control them and deployed police personnel near the school and also imposed Section 144 of IPC.
Press statement of Police:
The Golconda police however sent a press release on the same day i.e., 14th in which all the facts were clearly stated and the sections that were slapped on the accused who was taken in police custody were also mentioned. A criminal case No: 334/2018 was registered and 376 2(i) IPC and section 5(M) r/w 6 Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act-2012.
The police assured that investigations are on and no stone will be left unturned to punish the culprit.
The accused was arrested the next day on 15th September at 9.30 pm.
Forensic reports are awaited and the trial is set up to be conducted in a fast track court.
Preventing people from protesting:
When a fact-finding committee approached the SHO of Golconda PS in the evening around 6 pm, they saw some boys between 17 to 20 years detained there and their relatives waiting outside helplessly. Upon asking one of the boys said he was detained for his post on Facebook about a rally to protest in front of Azaan International School on 17th morning (Monday). He had requested his friends and all others to join the rally and make it a success through his post. He posted it in the night and in the morning was picked up from his home and brought to the police station. He was kept somewhere inside so his family who were not informed his whereabouts and had come to the PS did not see him there. It was only in the evening his family saw him in the reception area seated on the floor huddled in a corner like a criminal.
And within half an hour, a few more boys were brought in. And all for the same reason: posts on conducting a protest rally.
By imposing section 144, the police had already ensured that there would be no rallies or gatherings of any kind anywhere near the school. So what was the need for picking up the boys for their posts?
The boys were later released late evening on the condition that they delete the posts.
The school is being heavily guarded from all sides by police night and day for fear of damage to the property. This has made the people skeptical about the safety being offered to an institute that could not provide safety to a little girl who is their pupil.
Social Media:
Meanwhile, well-wishers and ill-wishers were busy on the social media circulating video of the father carrying his daughter showing the face of the girl who is seen crying uncontrollably. Images of the girl with captions saying that the 4-year-old girl of Aazan International school who has been raped has died in the hospital and May Allah grant her Jannat were also doing the rounds.
However, when the fact-finding committee met the family and the doctors, they were informed that the girl is recovering and will soon be in a position to be discharged from the hospital
Father of the victim victimized further
Even after three days of the incident with the anguished parents being busy in the hospital and supporters prevented from staging any kind of protest, no political leader came out in support of the girl and her parents.
People were talking about that the school management offering Rs 25 lakh to the MLA of Towli Chowki to remain silent and not press the issue. Somehow it seemed to fit in because the other corporate institutions run by the minorities in Hyderabad were all silent over the issue. In fact they were trying to sweep it under the carpet and trivializing the issue.
Someone from the management of another prestigious minority institute was supposed to have said, “ there are only a handful of institutions run by the minority and we can’t allow Azaan school to be closed down.”
There was another unspoken truth that these minority schools/ institutions which charged a bomb in the name of fees allegedly funded the popular political party of Hyderabad – AIMIM which was why there was no statement from Asaduddin Owaisi who is usually at the forefront in rendering support for Muslim causes.
However, angered with all this indifference, the father of the girl Imran Ahmed said that the school management has given Rs 25 lakh to the MLA Kausar Mohiuddin to stay silent. This news reached the MLA and his cronies who met the father intimidated him and made him apologize for issuing a false statement and video recorded the same and made it viral on Face book, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter.
This action angered sensitive people who felt this was further traumatizing the traumatized father while some supporters of MIM said the father has expressed his thanks for the support he is receiving from the MLA and cleared his misunderstanding. It was clearly a scripted statement as can be seen in the video.
AIMIM supremo steps in:
MP Asaduddin Owaisi released a press statement on 17th September supporting the parents of the girl, demanding stringent action against the school by asking that the school be de-recognised. He even met the parents and took them to the City Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar where they were assured full support.
A majority of the people in Hyderabad and Telangana state are fans of Asadduddin Owaisi and Pro AIMIM so they conveniently justified the delay as ‘leaders are usually busy with their hands full and step in only when they see the necessity’ and that leadership level statements should be given time.
But there are still others in the minority who saw this as a move taken in necessity to garner votes in the upcoming elections that are going to be held soon in Telangana State.
Rival politicians take advantage:
After talks of Rs 25 lakh and the delay in taking stand by the AIMIM MP and MLA, rival politicians began circulating their own videos condemning and criticizing the AIMIM.
Two very prominent ones were from the social worker, political activist Yasmeen Arora Munshi who has released several videos in the past on various issues. She abused the AIMIM leaders in the choicest of languages for allegedly taking 25 lakh and not supporting the victim and her family.
The other one was from the controversial Raja Singh Lodh the BJP MLA from Gosha Mahal constituency Hyderabad. Surprisingly Raja Singh, who always spews venom against Muslims, spoke kindly to them in the video. He asked what good are their leaders if they don’t stand up for your rights especially when a small child is raped? He is seen telling the Muslims that their leaders (AIMIM) have sold them and all they want is money and are not bothered about the poor Muslims. He also said he has been making all those hate filled statements because the Muslim leaders behave in such a manner.
This video has received likes from the Muslims too who appreciated Raja Singh, perhaps for the first time. Raja Singh has at least 19 cases booked against him for hate mongering and spreading enmity between different religious groups. Raja Singh had resigned to focus on cow protection but his resignation was not accepted.
School management finally speaks out
On September 18, the school management called for a press conference wherein they said they were almost mob lynched and hence were in a shelter for their safety due to which they were not available.
Given the times we are living in, all it would take was a post on their Facebook page or Twitter handle to offer support to the victim and her family and assure all parents the safety of their children. And condemn the incident. This statement seemed unbelievable.
In their press conference, while they accepted that the safety of all the children of their school is their responsibility, they did not admit that they are responsible for this incident. Though monetary compensation and waiving off the fees of the girl is being offered, it does not make up for their irresponsibility and callousness they exhibited in the last few days.
Some unanswered questions:
Why the delay in the arrest of the accused even though the girl identified him the same day?
Who are the police protecting? The accused or the victims?
Inexplicable silence of the school authorities, other minority institutions, political leaders representing the Muslims of Hyderabad.
Inexplicable silence of the Government of Telangana led by the TRS party which has friendly relations and is in collision with AIMIM.
What action is going to be taken against the school management that has been so indifferent to this case? Is waiving off the fees enough?
What next in the case?