Trigger warning: Sexual assault
A school principal’s driver in Hyderabad has been arrested for allegedly raping a four-year-old kindergarten student at a private school in Banjara Hills. The kindergarten student had been allegedly sexually assaulted over the past two months, her parents said in their statement to the police. Banjara Hills Sub-Inspector Manoj Kumar told TNM that the accused, the school principal Madhavi’s driver named Rajani Kumar, would also often take care of the classroom and play cartoons for the kindergarteners. The child was allegedly raped in the digital classroom, the SI said. The accused would handle the digital equipment in the classroom, and he allegedly raped the student in the classroom when no one was around, the SI added.
On Tuesday, October 18, the school witnessed protests led by several parents against the school authorities. Earlier in the day, the child's parents were seen physically assaulting the driver and verbally abusing the principal. Police received information about the commotion and reached the school, and a case was subsequently registered against Rajani Kumar based on a complaint from the child’s parents. The police have also named the school principal in the First Information Report (FIR) for negligence.
Speaking to the media, the mother said that the child told her that the principal took her to the digital classroom alone. “I found her behaviour to be odd for two months. She complained of pain and cried a lot, and has been in a disturbed state of mind. Earlier she didn’t say anything clearly, but now she has opened up about it,” the mother said.
Banjara Hills Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) M Sudarshan said a case has been registered the case under Section 376AB (punishment for rape on woman under twelve years of age) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) read with 5(m) (whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below twelve years) of the POCSO Act. Section 21 (punishment for failure to report or record a case) of POCSO Act has also been added, a police statement said. The driver has been arrested and sent to judicial custody, while the victim was sent for medical examination and handed over to her parents.