After Gurugram murder, girl student allegedly sexually assaulted in Panipat school toilet

Panipat school sexual assault: The incident occurred at 8 am on Wednesday but the FIR was lodged late in the night (Representational photo)

Days after the murder of a class 2 student at a Gurugram school, a nine-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at a private school in Panipat district of Haryana. The incident has fuelled protests by parents against the school authorities and the police.

An FIR has been lodged by the police against an unknown person under the charges of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “Role of some insider is being suspected behind the incident. As many as 4-5 persons have been taken into custody by the police for questioning,” say sources.

Panipat DSP Vidyawati said, “We have initiated the probe after lodging an FIR on the complaint of girl’s father.”

The incident occurred at 8 am on Wednesday but the FIR was lodged late in the night. The parents gathered outside the school on Thursday alleging that school authorities attempted a cover-up into the matter. On the other hand, the school principal has told the local media that the guilty won’t be spared.

According to sources, the class 4 student had gone to the school to appear for a unit test on Wednesday. She was allegedly sexually assaulted inside the school toilet.

The school authorities informed her parents that the child was weeping and asked them to take her home. At 9 am, her parents took her home. “They saw marks of injuries on her body when her clothes were changed,” said sources. The protesters alleged that the school authorities did not help the victim’s family on time. However, sources close to the school authorities say that the management came to know about the incident at 7 pm. Ultimately, at 8:45 pm, the girl’s parents reached the Women Police Station at Panipat where an FIR was lodged in the next two hours.

A protesting parent Rajiv Kumar told The Indian Express that the accused was wearing a T-shirt of green colour. “We have come to know that there was no CCTV camera in front of the toilet. We have been told that the CCTV cameras installed in front of the school gate have already been removed. These are the affairs of a school which charges a monthly fee in the range of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 from a student,” he said.

According to Kumar, they had requested the school authorities Wednesday to close it for three days to ensure a fair probe into the matter. However, classes continued to be held on Thursday.

The parents, gathered in front of the school, raised slogans against the school principal. “How did a male enter the toilet meant for girls?” the angry parents question.

Meanwhile, the police investigation is on but no clue about the guilty has been found yet.