Kamal Ghorui
NAGPUR: Twenty-four hours after the arrest of an NGO president, Riyaz Fazil Qazi, accused of sexual abuse and religious coercion of three employees, police conducted searches at his office in northwest Nagpur to unearth its 16-year employee history. Documents, records, bank accounts and electronic gadgets were seized. Intelligence agencies and Maharashtra anti-terrorist squad (ATS) are carrying out a parallel probe.The 48-year-old, who ran an NGO at Zingabai Takli for underprivileged children, was arrested on Saturday night and is in police custody till April 23. Mankapur police senior inspector Haresh Kalsekar will be writing to the charity commissioner to get details of the NGO — its registration, funding sources and activities over the years. Sources stated the investigation team is now set to scan through the staff list, including employees who quit the NGO.
“The probe will encompass women employees who left the organisation in 16 years, why they quit, and whether they were harassed. We are trying to unearth what was happening inside the NGO,” said a senior official.Police are scanning CCTV footage and seized electronic gadgets have been sent to the forensic laboratory to check for sexually explicit content or religiously sensitive material. The main complainant, a 23-year-old woman who worked as the NGO’s HR and admin head, alleged Qazi hugged and kissed her against her will, made her uncomfortable by insisting she adopt certain religious practices, unplugged CCTV before embracing her, and even created a fake Instagram account using portion of their names to stalk women employees.Sources stated the complainant was miffed with Qazi for calling a friend’s mother an imposter and shared defamatory details about her and family.The complainant’s sister, who later joined the NGO, claimed she was forced to adopt practices of another religion, including specific prayers and dress codes during field visits.This case has drawn attention because it follows similar allegations elsewhere in Maharashtra.
