After Gurugram murder, class four student sexually assaulted in Panipat school

The police have lodged an FIR against an unknown person under the charges of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Days after the murder of a school student in Gurugram, a nine year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted at a leading private school in Panipat, fuelling protests by the parents against the school authorities and police.

The police have lodged an FIR 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 and alleged that the school authorities attempted to cover-up the matter. On the other hand, the school principal has told the local media that the guilty won’t be spared.

The incident happened when the class four student went to the school for appearing in an exam on Wednesday. When she went to the school toilet, somebody allegedly grabbed her from behind and sexually assaulted her.

The school authorities informed her parents that the child was crying and asked them to take her home.

“They saw marks of injuries on her body when her clothes were changed,” according to sources. The protesters alleged that the school authorities did not help the victim family in 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 girl’s parents reached the Women Police Station at Panipat where an FIR was lodged in the next two hours.

Rajiv Kumar, one of the parents protesting, told The Indian Express that the accused was wearing a green colour t-shirt. “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 per student,” he said.

According to Kumar, they had requested the school authorities yesterday to close it for three days to ensure a fair probe into the matter, but classes were held on Thursday causing problems to the parents.

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

Meanwhile, the police investigations are underway, but no leads have been found so far.