Supporters of rape accused Maulvi threaten, attack complainants, 7 injured in clashes

In August this year, a Maulvi named Shabbir Raza was arrested for allegedly raping at least five minor girls, aged between 5 and 9 years, on the premises of an illegal Madrasa in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand. In this case, a dispute broke out on the 17^and September in Malsi village after a confrontation between those who wanted to take action against the accused Maulvi by filing a complaint and those who stood up for Maulvi Shabbir Raza.

The confrontation took a violent turn when the two sides started firing and attacking each other, injuring five to six people. Police shifted three of the injured, identified as Mohammad Yunus, Shahid Ahmed and Kabir Ahmed, to the district hospital after the clash.

It was reported that the accused Maulvi used to scare the minor girls by telling them stories about ‘jinns’ and threatening to unleash the spirits on their parents. He is also accused of showing the minor girls pornographic videos on his phone. On Tuesday, around 10 pm, Mohammad Khurshid (who supported accused Maulvi) and Nabi Hasan (one of the complainants against Maulvi) got into an argument over the case against accused Maulvi and it soon took a violent turn. Soon after, SP City Manoj Katyal, CO Niharika Tomar and many other police personnel reached the hospital and met the injured. Besides, PAC teams were deployed in the affected Malsi village to maintain law and order.

Speaking about the incident, SP City Manoj Katyal said that there was a dispute in Malsi village of Rudrapur Kotwali area in which several shots were fired by the clashing parties and seven people were injured. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hussain from the injured side said that the other side wanted to attack since evening and for this they had called in youths from outside the village. Reports say that the complainant side, including Nabi Hasan, was pressured by the supporters of the accused Maulvi to withdraw the case.

As reported earlier, the accused Maulvi, Shabbir Raza, was arrested on 18^and August from Malsi village in Rudrapur district of Uttarakhand. Raza arrived in Malsi just two months before his arrest as he was earlier living in Rampur Shahbad. The gruesome crime came to light when one of the minors narrated her ordeal to her relatives on 16^and August. Then, the next day, her mother filed a complaint with the police in the case. The police investigation had confirmed the sexual exploitation of at least five girls. Raza beat older boys on the pretext that they did not complete their homework and sent them away. He also asked older girls to leave by giving them a lot of homework. However, he allowed the younger girls, aged 5 to 9, to stay at the Madrassa for extra lessons.