Indian police rescue 51 girls held 'hostage' at Islamic seminary

Indian authorities have rescued 51 girls from an Islamic seminary in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh following complaints that the girls had been sexually harassed and beaten by the manager.

Acting on a tip-off by the locals, the police conducted a raid on the Madrasa Jamia Khadeejtul Qubra Lilabnat in Lucknow's Old City area on Friday and arrested Mohammad Taiyab Zia, the manager of the institution.

In a written complaint, the girls accused the manager of beating and molesting them, adding that they had been forced to dance to vulgar songs at the seminary.

The police have recorded the statement of the girls and the matter had brought to the Child Welfare Committee, according to India TV.

"Today we got a complaint that few students are allegedly held hostage in madrasa. There were different complaints as well by the students. We took the issue seriously and with the joint team we came here to raid. After the investigation we found that the complaints were right. So we had lodged FIR. The accused has been arrested," said Vikas Tripathi, Superintendent of Police in West Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Express reported that the matter only came to light after the girls threw notes detailing their ordeal out of the window, prompting neighbors to alert law enforcement agencies.

"We took strict action, the moment we got the complaint. We took our team and went there for the raid. We found 51 students who were held hostage in the madrasa. The culprit is arrested and we are doing our investigation. He used to molest those students and also beat them," Deepak Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Lucknow.

The police noted that arrangements have been made to send the girls back to their parents. They said that around 125 girls studied in the institution, but only 51 were present when the raid was carried out.

Meanwhile, investigations are still being conducted to determine if the seminary was being run illegally or was registered with the government.

Muslims comprise about 20 percent of Uttar Pradesh's population. Islamic seminaries in India, referred to as madrasas, are not generally viewed as extremists and many such institutions in the country have initiated change to bring them in tune with modern times, according to a recent article from The Diplomat.

Some seminaries now offer English language classes and computer proficiency in an effort to strengthen the students' potential for employment outside of the religious sector. However, some madrasas are said to be focused only on equipping students with functional literacy, which prevent them from engaging with the modern world.