Karate instructor arrested for sexually abusing a teen

KOZHIKODE: Police arrested V Siddique Ali (43), a karate instructor, on Thursday on charges of sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl who was found dead in Chaliyar river near Edavannapara, Malappuram on Monday.
The victim's relatives had lodged a police complaint, stating that she had informed them earlier about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the accused.Police stated that the girl's death was due to drowning according to preliminary postmortem reports, but family members said they suspected foul play in her death.
Karate instructor held under Pocso Act
Oorkkadavu native V Siddique Ali, 43, has been arrested under sections 7 and 8 of Pocso Act. Vazhakkad inspector of police said that as per the complaint, the girl was sexually abused by the instructor on Sep 15.
While police said that the death of the girl was due to drowning as per preliminary postmortem report, suggesting suicide, her family members said that they suspected foul play as there was no chance of the girl committing suicide.
Police said that though a case was registered against Ali earlier on a complaint by another student, he was acquitted as the complainant retracted the statement.
The deceased girl's sister said that the girl was found dead when the family had decided to file a police case against the karate instructor under Pocso Act. She said that there are allegations that some other girl students at the karate class were also subjected to similar abuse.
The girl, a higher secondary student, had gone missing from her house around 5pm on Monday and was found dead in the shallow waters of the Chaliyar river near its banks at 7pm.
Members of the action committee formed in the area demanding proper probe in the case demanded that the girl was found dead under mysterious circumstances as the river was shallow and that the top clothing was missing from the body.
Meanwhile, police recovered the clothes and shawl of the student in the search conducted in the river on Thursday evening.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)