70-year-old Priest Thrashed and Arrested for Sexual Abuse

By V Narayan
Times of India
January 11, 2013

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/70-year-old-priest-thrashed-and-arrested-for-sexual-abuse/articleshow/17977267.cms

MUMBAI: A 70-year-old dargah priest in Mumbai was thrashed by a mob before being handed over to the police on Thursday for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl and them making an MMS clip of the act.

Niyad Ahmed Hasan Ansari, sadar of a dargah in Mumbai was arrested on Thursday and his phone, which he used to make the MMS, seized. As the news spread, two more minor girls and their parents came forward as witnesses in the case against Ansari. "The two minor girls were his victims too. The accused had dismissed the teachers who use to come to the dargah to teach Arabic. After sacking them, he started taking the classes where sexually abused the minor girls," a police source said.

"The masjid sadar use to make me wait after classes got over. He misbehaved with me and warned me that if I told my parents, he would make the MMS public. Fearing stigma, I decided not to complain to my parents and attended the class," the victim told police. She has been sent of medical examination.

"Ansari had recorded his acts of sex and abuse he had committed on the minor girl a month ago on his mobile. He circulated the clip," a police officer said.

On Wednesday evening, the victim's father's friend got the MMS clip and he showed it to the man. "My friend did not know that the girl in the clip is my daughter. He said when he heard about that the clip circulating around, he got it from an acquaintance. Then he showed it to me," said the victim's father. "My daughter broke down when I asked about the incident and told me that she had kept quiet fearing the consequences she would have to face."

The victim's father and locals confronted the elderly priest, thrashed him and handed him over to the police. A case has been registered against Ansari.