Teacher tortures student

Thirteen-year-old Nigar Sheikh can hardly move her legs without her mother’s help. Sheikh’s schoolteacher, who had promised to educate her, allegedly assaulted her for not doing household chores.

Thirteen-year-old Nigar Sheikh can hardly move her legs without her mother’s help. Sheikh’s schoolteacher, who had promised to educate her, allegedly assaulted her for not doing household chores.

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Kausar Anwar (38), the teacher, refuted the charges saying, “The girl’s parents are blackmailing me into coughing up Rs 2 lakh.”

Anwar alleged that Nigar’s mother requested the teacher to take Nigar into her house as she did not trust Nigar’s father when the daughter was alone at home.

But Nigar’s mother Rehana says that the teacher approached her in the first week of September saying that Nigar was weak in studies and offered to let Nigar stay with her. Rehana alleges that the teacher assured the mother that she will take care of the girl’s education and overall development.

The girl’s parents, who stay in a one room shanty in Bharat Nagar area of Bandra (E), belong to a poor financial background and readily agreed to let her daughter stay with the teacher at her flat in Mumbra.

Anwar has been working with Shaheen Urdu High School for 13 years and the victim is a Class 8 student from the same school.
Mohammed Sufiyan, a trustee of the school said, “We cannot keep such a teacher in our school.”

“I was shocked to see her legs swollen so badly. There was also a long cut near her ankle, which looked as if it was made by a knife.” Rehana, with the help of two neighbours, lodged a complaint against Anwar at Mumbra police station, leading to the latter’s arrest on October 10.

Anwar was later released on bail. The girl was admitted to a hospital in Mumbra where stayed for three days. Sub-inspector P.B. Bobe confirmed the incident, but refused to speak further.