Sweeper held for ‘molesting’ two girls in Gurgaon school

Representational photo

Less than a month after a Class II student was murdered inside a school bathroom in Gurgaon, allegedly by a bus conductor who tried to sexually assault him, a sweeper at a private school has been arrested for allegedly molesting two girls when they were returning to their classroom after visiting the bathroom. Both girls study in Class III.

According to police, the alleged incident took place at a school in Gurgaon’s DLF Phase 3, Monday. The institution is run by an NGO and is affiliated to the CBSE. The incident came to light when one of the girls confided in staff members during a counselling session, held to familiarise them with “good touch” and “bad touch”.

Officials at the school cross-checked the allegations of the students by going through CCTV footage, which purportedly shows the accused following them as they leave the bathroom to return to their class. The footage, sources said, purportedly shows the accused trying to hug the girls as they struggle to get away.

“An FIR was filed by the principal of the school after one of the girls narrated her ordeal to her teacher, describing it as ‘bad touch’. The FIR was lodged under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the accused was arrested on Thursday,” said Gurgaon Police PRO Ravinder Kumar.

The sweeper, Suresh Kumar, 40, hails from Jharkhand, police said. Police added that he appears to have been hired by the school “three or four months ago”, and that his wife also works at the institution as a cook. “He has been produced before court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. He is now lodged in Bhondsi jail,” said Kumar.

Police said they are probing if the school had carried out police verification of the accused before hiring him. School officials could not be contacted for a comment.

Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar said, “We are focusing on the main investigation, but if anything comes up implying institutional liabilities, we will investigate along those lines as well.”

The incident comes even as provisions made by educational institutions for safety and security of students are under the scanner — after the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at Ryan International School’s Bhondsi branch on September 8.

District Magistrate Vinay Pratap Singh had on Tuesday directed all schools to submit compliance reports within 15 days to the District Education Officer, to prove that they had made mandatory security arrangements at their institutions.

Singh had directed that, among other things, schools should ensure that female attendants are deployed in toilets being used by small children, CCTV cameras are installed at appropriate places, and police verification of all non-teaching staff is carried out.