Chaliyar River death: Teenager's karate teacher arrested after family accuses him of raping her

Edavannapara (Malappuram): Vazhakkad police on Thursday arrested Oorkadavu native V Siddique Ali (43) under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children Against Child Sexual Offences) in the incident where a 17-year-old girl drowned in Chaliyar River at Vettathur near Muttungal Kadavu. The girl was found dead in the river near her house around 8 pm on Monday.

Relatives and people in the area were searching for the missing teenager since 6 pm when they found the body lying in a shallow part of the river. The torso was uncovered. As per reports, some people saw two strangers near the spot where the body was found on the day of the incident. The family said the condition in which the body was found did not seem like she had taken her own life.

According to the complaint filed by the victim's family, when the neighbours approached them, the duo drove away without revealing their faces, which paved the way for suspicion.

The girl was good at studies and had a black belt in karate. She was also active in extracurricular subjects. The family of the victim had alleged mystery over her death. They alleged she was constantly harassed and subjected to sexual abuse by her karate teacher. The family also said under no circumstance would the victim die by suicide. They said the teenager was determined to fight for justice even though she was under severe stress.

Meanwhile, the victim's sisters said Siddique has raped other girls as well and that he is an accused in two other POCSO cases. "When we confronted him about what he did to our sister, he avoided us, but later confessed to having committed a mistake," they said.

The victim had submitted a complaint to the Kozhikode Child Welfare Office detailing the abuse she had to endure. Once the complaint was forwarded to Kondotty police, they came to record the girl's statement. However, she was not in a condition to speak. The 17-year-old, who passed her Class 10 exams with excellent marks, dropped out of school in Plus-One.

The victim's sisters talk about the harassment she faced
The incident that happened on September 15, 2023, shook her. When she went to see her karate teacher, he physically abused her. She was quite distressed after that day. It was only after getting her to open up that we found out he had been sexually harassing her for the past three years.

He has sexually exploited many other girls who came to learn karate from him. She told us that he used to cross physical boundaries in the name of karate lessons. Later, when we inquired about the teacher, we found that he was already an accused in two POCSO cases.

When joining his karate class, he says he is their guru and god and that their body and mind should be surrendered to the guru for his satisfaction. He also said the guru can know his disciples by touching their chest and that they shall attain success only through him. After his speech, he asks the entire class whom they belong to, and all the students answer in unison: 'To maashu' (teacher). This is a village. Those joining his classes are small children. Even our sister joined his karate class when she was in Class 8.

He creates this image that he means good and whatever he does is for the benefit of the students. He even convinced the students it was ok to touch them. He would practice relaxation work on the senior students in class. He lies on them and touches them. He even kissed the students on their lips while convincing them it was normal. No other child should have to suffer like this anymore. We are speaking for a very helpless group of people.