Bangalore, Aug. 4: A security guard was arrested today for an alleged sexual assault on a Manipuri kindergarten student at a private school in Indira Nagar, East Bangalore.

The arrest came after the victim identified the man who she called "school uncle".

Her elder sister who studies in the same school had seen the girl on the man's lap yesterday, said deputy commissioner of police (Bangalore East) N. Satish Kumar.

"Her elder sister has seen the watchman call the victim by name and make her sit on his lap by offering toffees," said Kumar.

The officer said the watchman had "molested the child and touched her genitals inappropriately as is evident from the bruises on her private parts".

He, however, refused to name the man who has been slapped with provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. "Naming him at this stage might lead to identifying the child," Kumar said.

The man, aged around 28, has been working at the school for the past seven years.

The incident came to light when the girl reached home yesterday afternoon after her mother picked her after classes at 12.30pm.

The private school, more than 40 years old, has been functioning in the area even before Indira Nagar became an upscale locality that it is now. But neither the victim nor the school can be identified according to the POCSO Act.

The child's father works at a city restaurant and her mother is a homemaker. They are from Manipur.

The president of the Thadou Students' Association, T. Michael Lamjathang Haokip, who was among the first to approach the police, said the girl was crying inconsolably even after reaching home. She stopped her mother from undressing her.

When her mother went ahead and undressed the child, she found some red patches and bruises around her genitals, said Haokip, who was among the first to help the family.

The girl's parents reported the incident to the local police station last night.

The police immediately suspected that the incident happened on the school premises since the child kept repeating "school uncle" to her mother and investigators who met her last night when she was taken to the Bowring Hospital for the mandatory medical tests.

She has since been discharged and is back home.

The CCTVs at the school were functioning properly yesterday.

The day's footage is now with the investigators who have not yet got a visual on the alleged assault.

Repeated attempts to reach the school authorities proved futile.

A protest march held by the Manipuri community near the school gate this morning ended in a scuffle with the police who dispersed them.