The quiet of the Jamalpur area in Ahmedabad was shattered this past Sunday when news broke of a heinous crime committed within the confines of the Makhdoom Saheb Mosque.
A 23-year-old local resident, identified as Noman Sheikh, was apprehended by the Gaekwad Haveli police following allegations of the sexual assault of a seven-year-old boy.
The incident, which reportedly took place on the mosque’s rooftop, has sent shockwaves through the community, not only for the brutality of the act but for the deceptive manner in which it was carried out.
According to police officials, Sheikh allegedly approached the young boy during the afternoon hours, luring him to the isolated second-floor terrace of the religious premises.
The pretext was one of spiritual mentorship-the accused reportedly told the child he would teach him the proper way to offer namaz (prayers). However, once away from the eyes of other congregants, Sheikh is alleged to have sexually assaulted the minor for nearly twenty minutes.
The child, traumatized and in physical distress, later returned to his family, who immediately sensed something was wrong as his health began to deteriorate.
Evidence and Swift Police Intervention
The investigation gained immediate momentum when the victim’s family approached the police. Authorities utilized CCTV footage from the mosque’s surveillance system, which proved to be a critical piece of evidence.
The footage captured the accused engaging the child in conversation before leading him toward the rooftop and later showed the child running out of the premises in visible distress.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vani Doodhat confirmed that the suspect was traced and taken into custody within hours of the complaint being filed. To build a “watertight case,” the police took the unusual but thorough step of bringing the accused back to the mosque for a crime scene reconstruction.
During this process, investigators meticulously documented the sequence of events to align physical evidence with the survivor’s testimony. A panchnama (inquest report) was prepared on-site, amidst a heavy police presence as local residents gathered to express their outrage and grief.
Legal Ramifications and Criminal History
The legal proceedings against Noman Sheikh are being fast-tracked given the sensitive nature of the crime. He has been charged under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, alongside relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for assault and rape.
Preliminary background checks by the police have revealed that Sheikh is not a stranger to the law. He reportedly has a prior criminal record involving cases of assault and physical violence in the locality.
This history of aggression has prompted authorities to investigate whether there are other unreported victims in the area. Currently, the primary focus remains on the survivor’s recovery; he is receiving intensive medical treatment and psychological counseling at a local government hospital, where his condition is described as serious but stable.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
This incident is a harrowing reminder of how predators often weaponise trust and sacred environments to target the most vulnerable members of our society.
At The Logical Indian, we believe that no space-whether religious, educational, or domestic is truly safe until we foster a culture of hyper-vigilance and comprehensive child safety education.
The fact that a house of worship was used as a backdrop for such depravity is a stain on the collective conscience of the community.
We stand for a society where children can grow without the shadow of fear, and we urge the authorities to ensure the swiftest possible justice to serve as a deterrent. Beyond legal action, there is a dire need for community-led dialogues on child protection.
We must break the taboos surrounding conversations on “good touch and bad touch” and ensure that children feel empowered to speak up, regardless of where or by whom they are being threatened.
Justice for this young survivor must be absolute, but our commitment to preventing the next such incident must be even stronger.
