A cleric at a madrassa, after being arrested by the police for raping a minor girl student, said on camera that he had reached "mohabbat ki gehrai" (depths of love) with her.

The girl, as per her family, is only 12 years old.

The incident has come to light from the Nawada district of Bihar.

A first information report (number—3/2023) in the case was registered at the Kuawakol police station of Nawada on 4 January, 2023. The complaint was given by the girl's mother.

The accused, Shahadat Hussain, has been booked under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 511 along with sections 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act and sections 67(a) and (b) of the Information Technology Act. 

Kauwakol Station House Officer, Rajesh Kumar, told Swarajya that Shahadat was arrested by the police the same day of the FIR.

The victim’s mother, in a video statement to the local media, said that Shahadat clicked a picture with the girl after keeping his hands on her shoulder. Using the picture, he started blackmailing her and made relations with her. 

The accused, on the other hand, told the media after his arrest that, "Hum Mohabbat ki gehrai me pahuch gaye the. Unke gharwalo ko malum chalne pe, wo bacchi ko rokne lage, usse baat mat karo, mat milo. Kuch din tak hum karte rahe, filhaal breakup ho gya. Fir baatchit band ho gayi".

(This is roughly translated as: We had gone deep in love. After her family learned about the relationship, they stopped sending her to the madrassa. They asked her to stop talking to me. The relationship went on for some days like this, then we had a breakup and we stopped talking to each other).

Shahadat is reportedly a native of Gadhi village of Jamui district in Bihar. The madrassa where he taught is in Kuawakol area, run by one Noori Mosque.

The minor victim told the media that Hussain clicked pictures with her, saying he was like her brother. He used to praise her a lot for being good at studies.

After clicking the pictures, he started blackmailing her saying that if she did not adhere to his demands, he would share her pictures on social media platforms. Scared, the victim kept doing whatever he asked her to do.

She said it was only recently that she revealed everything to her parents.

In a statement, a police officer told the media that after arresting Shahadat, they seized his phone. They found similar pictures clicked with several other girl students at the madrassa.