British man arrested in Delhi for ‘sexually abusing’ blind school kids

Delhi Police said the British man, Murray Ward, arrested for alleged sexual abuse of visually impaired children had been giving donations to National Association for Blind for the last nine years

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.

A Delhi Police team found ‘objectionable’ videos from the laptop of the accused. (Shutterstock/Picture for representation only)

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.

Besides, 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 Rs 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.

“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.

The British man was charged with legal provisions in the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act, and sent to police custody for two days.