Hyderabad:
A Class 2 student in Hyderabad was allegedly molested by her senior in a school washroom. Her parents today led a protest outside the school, demanding action.
The police say that the incident took place 10 days ago and the attacker, who is a Class 9 student, filmed the act on his mobile and showed it to his friends.
The police have registered a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act based on the family's complaint. The family alleges that the boy repeated the assault and that is when the incident became public.
Bhagyashree, a parent who was part of today's protest questioned why no one noticed that the girl was missing from her classroom for an hour. "What were her teachers and ayahs doing? Isn't it their responsibility?"
Another parent Sunitha, who has two daughters in the school, said, "The principal told us 'your child was not assaulted, why are you complaining?' How can she talk like that? Today it is someone else's child, tomorrow it could be mine."
The school initially denied the incident and told NDTV that the boy had only entered the washroom and nothing had happened. They later told the police that the boy had chopped off the girl's hair.
Later in the evening, the principal, Seetha Kiran admitted to NDTV, "I am not denying the incident. That is why we are sensitising the entire school and have not brushed it under the carpet. That is how everyone came to know, isn't it. We are utmost concerned about the safety of our students."
Parents allege this is the third incident in the school and no action has been taken. They claim that a teacher, who was accused of sexual assault, was quietly shifted to another school but was not punished.
"He should have been thrown out of the institution and not allowed to teach anywhere else also. They should have taken that kind of stringent action. I don't know why schools presume their prestige is affected by accepting a mistake. If they take action, their credibility will increase," said Vinod, a parent.
The child's parents are reportedly reluctant to lodge a police complaint.
Senior police officer Rama Rajeswari told NDTV they had asked the management to come forward and register a case under a stringent law on sexual crimes against children. They have also advised the school to set up a Child Abuse Monitoring Committee to investigate the incident and report to the police.