The parents of a four-year-old girl studying at a premier city school have registered a police case alleging that two female teachers sexually assaulted the lower kindergarten student.
A case was registered at the woman police station on Thursday under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (intercourse against the order of nature) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. On Friday, the parents of the girl deposed before a local court to record their statement.
The girl's mother said that on October 27, she saw that her daughter was agitated and behaving very awkwardly.
"She dumped her bag in the living room and went to her bedroom," the mother told The Telegraph. "She did not eat properly. I repeatedly asked her what happened but she didn't reply. I thought she was punished at school for some reason."
The mother became worried when the little girl complained about pain and uneasiness in her private parts.
"When I saw that she wasn't able to walk or sit properly, I forcefully asked her what was wrong. It was then that she narrated the incident," her mother said.
She was even more shocked when her daughter told her that the teachers "have been doing it for quite a few days".
The horrified mother informed her husband and they rushed to a hospital where a doctor examined the little girl and said that she had been sexually assaulted.
"We also consulted a private hospital at Agamkuan (the next day) but the reports were the same," the mother said. "We approached the school principal and submitted a written complaint against the teachers. We were not satisfied with the way the principal was handling the matter and he sounded very defensive. I want justice for our daughter, so finally I lodged the complaint against the teachers at the woman police station on Thursday."
City superintendent of police (SP) Chandan Kushwaha told The Telegraph that the statement of the girl's parents and the school authorities had been recorded, and that the two teachers have been detained based on the complaint by the girl's parents, and are being interrogated by police.
"The girl went through a medical check-up and it showed that she was sexually assaulted," SP Kushwaha said. "The parents have given a written complaint against the teachers to the school authorities but they claimed that they did not get any assistance and assurance from the school management. Further investigation will take place after the interrogation of the accused teachers."
A forensics team also visited the school.
Father Jacob Olickathotty, principal of St Xavier's High School where the girl is enrolled, said the school administration got to know about the incident when the parents of the child approached him on November 2.
"They levelled sexual assault charge against two of our schoolteachers and showed a medical report that confirms that the girl was molested. The news really shocked me because no such cases have ever happened (in the school) and both the teachers are in their early forties. They both have been working here for two decades," said the principal. The principal added: "I called the girl's parents and the teachers on November 3, but the parents didn't turn up. Later, I got to know that they have filed a complaint against the teachers at the police station."
Asked what should have been the school's response to the parents' complaint, Patna High Court lawyer Prabhat Kumar said: "The immediate recourse the school concerned can take is to suspend those two teachers as prima facie the allegations made against them stand true. However, as the investigation is still on in the case, one should refrain from coming into any conclusion as the charges can always be challenged in the court."
Another high court lawyer Arun Kumar said: "The school should issue a showcause (notice) to both the teachers forthright and suspend them."
