‘Sexual assault’ in school: 59-year-old woman sent to police custody

Moody became the oldest US inmate put to death since executions resumed in the US in the 1970s, according to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center. (Representational Image)

THE 59-year-old woman arrested by Byculla police for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl was sent to police custody till April 26 by a special court on Tuesday. The woman, an attendant at a south Mumbai school, was produced before the court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The prosecution submitted before the court that police custody was required to probe whether there were previous incidents of such abuse by the accused. The accused’s lawyer, Asif Naqvi, submitted that the complaint could have resulted from a “misunderstanding”. He submitted that the accused had been a staffer at the school for over 20 years and no complaint of any nature has been received against her.

On Sunday, the parents of the girl had overheard her talk to her cousin while playing about being touched inappropriately by the attendant. She was then taken to hospital. The girl’s father told police that she had complained of abdominal pain around two weeks ago and had been hesitant to go to school.

The four-year-old was taken to JJ hospital on Tuesday for a medical check-up. Doctors said she suffers from fever and vomiting but her condition was stable. “The paediatric, gynaecology and forensic medicine department have been roped in to medically examine her and submit a report,” a senior doctor said. She was examined by a group of doctors for medical evidence of sexual assault.