Bangalore, Jul 17: Two staff members allegedly raped a 6-year-old girl inside a prominent school in Bangalore on Monday. The accused allegedly committed the rape during the school hours on Monday.
Several parents protested outside the school accusing the top international school in East Bangalore of not taking any action. They allege that some school staff are the culprits and have demanded strict action against them as well as the management.
Neelesh, the parent of a student, accused the school authorities of trying to cover up the incident. "The police officials have assured us of action and they are investigating the the case," he said.
Another parent Yeshu said they would continue the protests unless the school management takes responsibility for the incident. The school management and address us. "They are trying to hush up the case. We want security in place and won't move away from here," he said.
After several hours of protest, the school authorities finally came out to address the agitated parents. They assured the parents of justice and promised better security measure in the school.
"The incident is very unfortunate and whoever is responsible should be hanged. We are cooperating with the authorities and all CCTV footages have been given to the authorities and the staff is available for investigation. We have left no stone unturned to maintain the safety of children. I assure you of justice. I am there for all of you. The guilty will be punished," the school founder Rustom Kerawalla said.
But Kerawalla or any other management members are yet to meet the girl's parents even four days after the incident which shows that he is shirking his responsibility.
"I have not yet met the victim's parents. I will be meeting them. I am waiting for the investigation to be over. The accused are with the police. We have discussed additional security measures, additional CCTV will be installed. Additional verifications of the staff will be done and more care will be taken," he added.
He further said that the school will function normally from Friday which angered the parents further as they once again questioned the management's attitude.
Bangalore Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Pant said that the alleged incident took place inside the school. Pant said that the parents have complained that the incident did take place inside the school premises.
The incident came to light after the traumatized child reached home at around 1 PM on Monday and told her mother how an 'uncle' had befriended her, taken her out of school just as her classes were over and sexually assaulted her. She was allegedly assaulted when she came out of her class at around 11 AM on Monday.
Police officials have invoked Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) against the unidentified person and registered a complaint of rape.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) member Vinod Tikoo said that the school management is completely responsible when the child is in the school premises. "This is very shocking and not acceptable at all. The staff responsible should be arrested immediately and the cause of this should be investigated. I will speak to the state commission of NCPCR to speak to the school and take up the matter. The police should act immediately and the school is completely responsible for the safety of the child," said Tikoo.
The parents are also extremely agitated as many top schools in Bangalore have asked them to sign a form which says that the schools and their staff are not responsible for the safety of students. The form says that when the child participates in events organised by the school including field trips, excursions and camps, the staff or teachers of the school can't be held responsible for any untoward incident.
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