By Express News Service

KOCHI: A 63-year-old madrassa teacher, who has been sexually abusing several students for the past 38 years, was arrested on Saturday following a complaint by a mosque committee. Yusuf, a native of Aluva, who was working for the past two years as a teacher at the Thalayolaparambu madrassa, was arrested at Kodungallur by the Thalayolaparambu police following a complaint for child abuse by the Mahallu committee, the executive body of the mosque under which the madrassa functions, on Friday.

Yusuf

“A week ago, a boy was called to his room under the pretext of teaching him Quran. When the boy reached home, he looked frightened and depressed. When his parents enquired about the matter, he revealed he was sexually abused by Yusuf. The parents reported the matter to the Mahallu committee which suspended Yusuf before filing a case with the police,” said Thalayolaparambu SI Soofi T M. Though Yusuf had been absconding since then, he was seen giving religious talks at various mosques in Thrissur and Palakkad districts, Soofi said.

Earlier, a girl student had shown reluctance to go to the madrassa class due to alleged abuse by the sexagenarian. The girl’s parents registered a complaint with the Mahallu committee which, in turn, approached the police. “As both kids are below the age of 10, we didn’t interrogate them further. Once the medical test at Vaikom Government Hospital is over, we will get further information on the physical assault,” said Soofi.

“Yusuf confessed to raping kids since the age of 25. A victim of sexual assault as a child, Yusuf took his revenge by raping the daughter of the man who raped him. As kids won’t complain and often have no knowledge about legal action, Yusuf continued with his criminal behaviour. Even in this case, parents of the two kids and Mahallu committee took a while to register their complaint,” Soofi said. Yusuf used to lure children with sweets and fruits. According to the police, Yusuf is a serial offender and has raped more than a dozen kids.