Shackled for 3 days, kids flee from madarsa
ALIGARH: In a shocking incident, three boys escaped from a madarsa allegedly after they were assaulted by a teacher and kept chained for three days as punishment for a misdemeanor. The police have handed over the children to their parents, who have refused to file an FIR saying that the children must “bear some tough treatment to get educated.”
According to reports, Sameer, 12, Umar, 12, and his 10-year-old brother Abu Qamar-- all students of Faizul Quran madarsa in Rite village—were found hiding in a sugarcane field in neighbouring Nandpur village on Thursday morning. The farmer Manveer, who found the boys, said two of the boys were bound to each other by padlocked steel chains. The children told him that they had managed to escape from the madarsa on Wednesday night after they were kept shackled for three days by madarsa teacher Qari Huzaifa who had also assaulted them.
Manveer informed the police, following which Lodha station officer Amit Yadav reached the site and took the children to the police station. He called in madarsa manager Shan Mohammad, who told police that he had received information about the escape of three children but did not know anything about the chaining or assault. “If allegations against the teacher is proved, we will take appropriate action against him,” he said.
Later, the police handed over the children to their family members, who refused to file a complaint against the madarsa or the teacher. “The children’s parents told us that they themselves gave the chain to the madarsa so that the children could be punished if they did not take education seriously,” said the SO.
Talking to HT, Zafar Khan, father of Umar and Abu Qamar, said, “I have no complaints against the madarsa and I shall not take any action against anybody. Everybody has to bear tough treatment to get children educated. They must be taught a lesson if they do anything wrong.”