4-year-old sexually harassed on school bus by driver

GREATER NOIDA: A four-year-old nursery student of a reputable private school in Noida was allegedly sexually harassed by the driver of her school bus in the presence of a nursemaid who accompanies the children in the bus.

Though the crime took place on October 9, the parents were waiting for the past 15 days for the school to file an FIR and take action against the driver after reporting the crime to the principal. Finally, as the school backed out on its assurance to file an FIR, the parents filed the same on October 25 night.

The FIR states that on the afternoon of October 9, when the child’s father went to the bus stop to pick her up, he found her crying . “She revealed that the driver had opened her undergarment and touched her private parts and made a remark. When the father tried to question further, the child again started crying, saying that the driver had touched her at a wrong place,” says the FIR.

When the child’s mother arrived home from her workplace at around 9pm, the child whispered something into her ear after which the mother took her to a room where the child reiterated her ordeal. “After that, she started crying. When I was making her video, she snatched my phone and asked me not to tell bhaiya (driver), otherwise he will hit her. I immediately called up the principal and the class teacher and shared the video with the teacher on WhatsApp, but she did not respond,” the mother states in the FIR.

The FIR further states that the next day, the principal called them to school. After deliberations with the managment, the principal said they would be taking action against the accused and would be filing an FIR too.

The child identified the driver from photographs in the presence of the principal, coordinator and other officials. “After saying this, the school kept giving us assurances on action for 15 days. When we went to the school on October 23 and demanded a copy of the FIR and the termination letter of the driver, the school backed out completely and said they would not hand over the same,” reads the FIR.

The FIR alleges that even after the accused was identified, the school management did not take any action and instead gave “false assurances” that the school would soon lodge an FIR.

Having waited for action till October 25 afternoon, the parents themselves lodged an FIR against the accused later at night.

SP (rural) Vineet Jaiswal said an FIR has been lodged under section 376 of IPC and sections 5/6 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act after a complaint was received from the child’s mother on Thursday night. “We have identified the driver and the accused will be arrested soon,” he said.

Amit Srivastava, circle officer 1, told TOI that though the school is within the jurisdiction of Noida police, the FIR was lodged at Surajpur police station as the parents reside in that area.

“The parents have changed the child's school. The school refunded the two quarter fees of the child to the parents on Friday,” he added.

A police officer said the child has stopped going to school and the parents had met the school officials at least thrice since the incident.

The principal of the school did not respond to repeated calls and messages from TOI.