Social media ‘unlike’ a comment in unison

School official’s derogatory comment about a sexually assaulted girl child draws condemnation from Facebook, Twitter users.

November 23, 2014 10:41 am | Updated 10:41 am IST - Kozhikode:

A derogatory comment made by a senior administrative member of Darul Huda English Medium School, Parakkadavu, about a girl student who was sexually assaulted, has sparked heated discussions in social media across the State.

The issue came to light after visuals of the speech made by Perod Abdu Rahiman Saqafi on November 11 were posted on YouTube by some users. The Valayam police have registered a case against Saqafi under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice Act.

The four-and-a-half-year-old student was sexually assaulted on October 30 and two senior students of the school have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Saqafi was caught on record making an abusive remark about the girl and her family, along with a claim that the victim had ‘a strange orientation towards sex, the reason for which had to be examined in detail.’ He also revealed some of the confidential details the girl’s mother had shared with the school authorities. The attempt to justify the two senior students drew wide condemnation on Facebook and Twitter. That he made such comments while holding a top position in a religious body did not go down well with many.

When the audio and video went viral, the victim’s father was prompted to lodge a complaint directly with the District Police Chief. A case was registered against the accused on Friday after the police officer referred the case to the Valayam police. The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights too has sought a report on the incident.

Facebook campaigners are seeking a Crime Branch inquiry into the sexual assault case. The local police were accused of trying to scuttle the case and protect the perpetrators. Earlier, an attempt by the police to beat up the school bus cleaner and make him confess to the crime was exposed by the local people.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.