Maharashtra: NGO director arrested after women employees allege harassment, religious coercion in Nagpur

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 : Director of a Non-governmental organization (NGO) in Maharashtra's Nagpur was arrested after four women employees accused him of molestation and religious coercion, police said.

Police Inspector at Mankapur Police Station, Haresh Kalsekar, stated that a group of complainants approached the police on Saturday, leading to swift action against the accused. "Four girls came to us the day before yesterday to file a complaint. They work for an NGO named Universal Multipurpose Society. The director of this NGO is Riyaz Fazil Qazi," Kalsekar told ANI.

According to Kalsekar, one of the complainants alleged that she was harassed by the accused a few years ago, while others claimed he attempted to impose religious practices on them against their will. "One of the complainants said that the person harassed her two to three years ago on her birthday. Other girls said that he used to force information about Muslim customs on them even though they didn't want to hear it," he said.

Kalsekar further revealed that the accused had allegedly made remarks about the character of female employees while speaking to a parent. "The accused called the mother of one of the girls who left the job eight days ago and said something about the character of the other girls working there. After that, all the girls gathered and came to us to file a complaint," he added.

"After the complaint was filed, the investigation started. On the same day, the accused was arrested and presented in court, and the police were granted custody of him until April 23," Kalsekar said.

Police have invoked relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including a section of the IT Act. Currently, four victims have been identified, and officials indicated that more may come forward as the investigation progresses.

The NGO reportedly works for the education of underprivileged children from labour-class families. Police said further details will emerge as the probe continues.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor