The Ashok Nagar police have arrested a 50-year-old muezzin of a mosque for allegedly sexually assaulting seven male students — all minors who he tutored in Arabic and Kannada at his house. The police arrested Muneer Abbas Ali on Thursday after receiving a slew of complaints from parents of the victims.
According to the police, the accused hails from Gauribidanur. He has been living in the city for the past 10 years working in the mosque. “He is married and has two children at Alipur in Gauribidanur. He has a Master of Education degree and taught Arabic, Kannada and Hindi,” a police officer said.
The alleged crime came to light after some of his students refused to go to his house for tuitions. One parent questioned his child who told him what was happening. “The family alerted the parents of the other boys in the class. As many as seven cases have been filed with the Ashok Nagar police since Wednesday. We suspect that many victims and their parents have not come forward fearing social stigma,” a senior police officer said.
The police arrested Ali after booking him under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
