Caretaker held for ‘assaulting’ disabled girls at boarding school

A 44-year-old man was arrested for allegedly assaulting girls with hearing and speech impairments at a boarding school. The man, a substitute caretaker for the girls, was sent to judicial custody as Karjat police are waiting for an interpreter to help record the victims’ statements. According to the police, the accused is a married man with a 20-year-old daughter. He had been allegedly assaulting the students on a regular basis.

“We have proof that he has assaulted the girls. In their sign language, the girls told me about how he would touch them indecently and make vulgar signs at them. We looked for incriminating evidence in his private possessions but we didn’t find any. To understand the full extent of his crime, we would need interpreters who can communicate in sign language,” said Senior Inspector Sujata Tanawade.

She said she has written to a government institute in Bandra to send in interpreters for a couple of weeks. “The accused is in magistrate custody till April 13. I want to ensure that all proof against him is corroborative to the girls’ statements. An identification parade will be conducted to identify the accused. The girls’ statements will be taken in front of me by government approved interpreters, which may happen by Tuesday,” said Tanawade. The Child Welfare Committee has been notified. “Instead of making the girls repeat statements, we have requested CWC officials to come and take the statements here in Karjat,” said Tanawade.

The incident came to light when two victims went home on March 27. “The parents approached us when the girls complained of pain in their private parts,” said Tanawade.