Delhi: Nine-year-old raped in madrasa, neighbours question ‘is it safe to let girls study’

“He’s lived here for decades. We all send our children from 6-7 pm daily to study Urdu… There was no reason to be doubtful of his behaviour, and then this happens… I am scared of sending my children to school now,” said Naushad (46).

It was two days after the incident that the girl’s maternal aunt discovered what had happened and took her to the hospital. “Her four siblings also studied there, as did my children. We are scarred, I won’t send my children to any madrasa anymore. If we can’t trust those who teach our children, who do we trust?” she said.

The girl’s classmate said, “When she came back on Sunday after two hours, we asked her where she was… she ignored the question and continued playing. Every few minutes, she would run inside on the pretext of going to the bathroom. The next day, she stopped playing with us. She didn’t talk as much and said she was sick.”

According to the victim’s aunt, the girl told her that the accused gave Rs 5 to lure her, and also beat her up. “She told me he threatened her with death if she told anyone. She was very scared and confused,” the aunt alleged.

Throughout Wednesday, the conversation in the locality centred on whether it was safe to let girls study. The 55-year-old pradhan of the mahila samiti at the cluster said, “We urge families to send their girls to school, but such incidents deter them.”