According to the police, the incident occurred between 5 and 6 pm on Sunday, when the girl went for her tuition class at Illyas Diwan's house.

“The girl and three other children were studying in Diwan’s house. He asked her to bring a matchbox from the kitchen. He followed her inside and then sexually abused her,” said Inspector N H Ninama.

He added that Diwan then warned the girl not to tell anyone about the incident, otherwise he would punish her severely. At night, the victim’s father Shabbir Diwan, a daily wage labourer in a nearby ONGC plant, noticed that his daughter was in pain and was bleeding too. “When he asked her what was the matter, the victim told her parents about the incident,” Sub-Inspector V R Patel said. He added that Shabbir and his wife then informed the police, who managed to nab Maulvi Diwan.

The accused confessed to the crime after his arrest, the police said. Diwan, a native of Dabha village in Jambusar and a father of three children, has been working with Noor-ul-Islam madrasa in Vastikhandli for the last six years.

The police said the madrasa, with around 85 students, was strict about academics and so some students took private tuitions.