DCW officials had said the accused allegedly entered the classroom when the children got back from the morning assembly, sexually assaulted the girls before undressing himself and urinating in front of the class. Days after two girls were allegedly forcibly undressed by an unknown person inside the classroom of a civic body-run school in Delhi while they, along with other children in the class, were waiting for their teacher to arrive, police said they have detained a 40-year-old man. Police said the suspect, who is unemployed, claims to have been drunk at the time.
DCP (Northeast) Sanjay Sain said, “We spoke to the girls and based on their description of the man, a sketch was made. We showed the sketch to other students and locals. Since there were no CCTVs at the school, we analysed other CCTVs in the area.”
Police sources said the suspect was identified based on footage and inputs from local informers. “The man was drunk when we picked him up. His photos match the footage. He has the same orange T-shirt that was worn by the accused on the day of the incident, as seen in the footage. We also found several videos and photos on his phone that were obscene in nature. His neighbours alleged he would often harass women in the area,” said an officer.
The alleged incident took place on April 30. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has sent notices to the Delhi Police and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) commissioner demanding action against the accused, and also the school authorities for allegedly hiding the matter.
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DCW officials had said the accused allegedly entered the classroom when the children got back from the morning assembly, sexually assaulted the girls before undressing himself and urinating in front of the class. “The students informed the principal and class teacher about the incident but they were asked to keep quiet and forget about the incident,” alleged the DCW in a press statement.
The matter came to light after the parents of a student, who was in the class at the time, approached cops about the incident. Police have filed a case under IPC sections 354 (molestation), 354 A (disrobing), 509 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the POCSO Act against unknown persons.
East MCD officials said they are conducting an enquiry and will take action.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has issued notices to the SHO of the police station concerned and the Education Director of the relevant municipal corporation.
In the notice to the Education Director, the DCPCR has written, “The offence occurred on April 30, 2022, however, the school authorities did not disclose the incident to police authorities which is a clear violation of Section 19 of the POCSO Act, 2012.” It has asked the corporation for details of inquiry conducted into the matter and action taken against erring officials, and has sought to know what measures have been taken to ensure safety of students of the school.
It has also asked police to share a copy of the FIR, if the victims were produced before the CWC concerned, and the counselling report of the girls.
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