Briton arrested for alleged sexual assault on blind boys

MURRAY DENNIS WARD, A FREQUENT VISITOR TO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND IN SOUTH DELHI’S RK PURAM, WAS CAUGHT BY A STAFFER, WHO RECORDED A VIDEO

A 54-year-old British man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting three children at a home run by the National Association for the Blind, a non-profit organisation in the Capital.

The suspected paedophile, Murray Dennis Ward, of Gloucestershire, was taken into custody on Sunday in his rented lodging in Vasant Kunj Enclave after an employee of the children’s home caught him “red-handed” abusing the blind boys in a dormitory the previous evening, police said.

“He recorded a video of the act on his mobile phone before alerting the management,” said RP Upadhyay, the police joint commissioner of south-eastern range, on Monday.

Ward denied the charge, but the video clip goes against him.

Objectionable material has been found on the suspect’s laptop, according to Chinmoy Biswal, the additional deputy joint commissioner of police (south).

“Initial investigation reveals he is a paedophile,” the officer said. Ward was working in a senior position with a multinational company based in Gurgaon until last April, drawing an annual salary of ~1.5 crore. He is currently under treatment after suffering a paralytic attack in February.

The Briton was a frequent visitor at the NGO for the blind in south Delhi’s RK Puram for the past eight years, and has donated handsomely for the children’s education and hostel.

He taught English and communication skills voluntarily to the children, said Prashant Ranjan Verma, general secretary of the association. “We never received a complaint against him before.”

But when he was interacting with children in a room around 6pm on Saturday, an employee noticed him doing objectionable acts with the kids, Verma said.

“The employee separated Ward from the children before alerting us … When senior officials met the children and enquired on Sunday afternoon, three children confirmed the allegations.” Police were alerted thereafter.

Verma said visitors are never allowed to meet children in closed rooms. But, according to a senior investigator, Ward had access to the hostel and classes because of his long association with the organisation.