Bangalore, August 6: The principal and president of a school, where a three-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by the watchman, were arrested Thursday for not complying with orders issued by police on safety measures. The incident had triggered protests by parents of students who had clashed with the police Tuesday.
“Principal and the school president have been arrested for not complying with the orders issued by the commissioner of police (on safety measures),” additional commissioner of police (Bangalore East) P Harishekaran said. He said they have been arrested under section 188 IPC (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and section 336 IPC (Act endangering life or personal safety of others).
Parents of the girl had approached police after they came to know about the incident as she complained of pain in her private parts after returning from school in the afternoon Monday. The girl was immediately taken for medical examination at government-run Bowring Hospital and a case was registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) against the watchman. Police had arrested the watchman of the school Tuesday following the complaint.
According to preliminary investigation, the watchman was working in the school for four years and resides on school premises with his wife, an attendant in the same school. “The victim’s elder sister, who also studies in the school, told her parents that the guard would often call her younger sister by name, fondle her and give chocolates to both of them,” Harishekaran said.
Following series of sexual assaults on minor girls at schools in the city last year raising questions about their safety, Bangalore Police had issued safety guidelines for schools that included installation of CCTV cameras, deputing of floor vigilance officer and confining areas like gym and swimming pools and other sports facilities to authorised persons among others. The safety guidelines were found to be breached in several cases. National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had Wednesday said schools cannot absolve themselves of responsibility in cases of sexual assault on children, as she took cognisance of the incident. PTI
