Minor girl raped during function of Dadar school

Minor girl raped during function of Dadar school

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 07:15 PM IST
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Mumbai : In a shocking incident, a minor was sexually assaulted inside the premises of the school where she studied. The incident occurred on Friday night in a prominent school in Dadar. The police have arrested a 20-year-old identified as Somnath Yadav, an employee of a catering company that had leased out the school’s cultural hall. Yadav alongwith three other youngsters stayed in the hall and sometimes managed the school canteen too.

The incident occurred on Friday night, when the school was holding the second day of its annual cultural festival. According to the preliminary investigation conducted by the Shivaji Park police, the girl aged nine studied in standard fifth of the school.

On Friday evening, the girl missed her school bus after the cultural events for the day concluded and informed her class teacher Jyoti Padelkar. The class teacher then informed the principal of the school who in turn called the parents and asked them to come pick her up. Once the parents were informed, Padelkar, left her at the school attendant’s quarters in the same premises and left from there.

Gulab Patil, inspector with Shivaji Park police, who is investigating the case, said, “Since the attendant had not yet arrived to the school, the girl was left in the custody of the attendant’s son, another juvenile. After sometime the young boy left for tuitions and minutes later the attendant returned. The attendant got busy with her daily chores and did not notice the girl heading towards the girl’s toilet located on the second floor of the building annexed to the attendant’s quarters.”

By the time the attendant returned home, it was 8 pm and most of the school building was shrouded in darkness. Officials inform that the accused Yadav, stayed in the hall located next to the girl’s toilet and after seeing the girl heading to the washroom, he followed her and then sexually assaulted her.

At around 8.15, the girl’s aunt reached the school and enquired about the child. When the attendant couldn’t find her, everybody got worried. While looking for the her, the girl’s aunt spotted Yadav climbing down the staircase and asked him about her. Yadav however answered in an evasive manner and left.

The attendant then found the girl bleeding in the lavatory and the police were informed. The police after speaking to the victim asked her to identify the accused and she pointed to Yadav as the perpetrator. The Shivaji Park police then arrested Yadav and began investigation into the matter.

Officials inform that Yadav and three others had been staying in the hall since the last four months. All of them had been employed by Mayur Caterers and Yadav was the hall manager and the trio operated the school canteen. Yadav has been booked under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 4 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.

No CCTV’s or guards

adds: Nivedita Niranjankumar When Free Press Journal spoke to the school principal, he claimed to have no inkling of the four youngsters staying in the school premises. “The hall was leased out to a catering company by the trust.I was not informed who they leased it to or whether there were people staying in the premises,”he said.

Incidentally the second floor where the hall which acted as the residence of the accused, also has classes for the junior college run by the same trust and also the girl’s toilets for both the school students and college students.

The school’s annual cultural festival which was to be visited by the state education minister was also held in the same hall which was the staying quarters of the accused and three others.

When asked whether any other staff members, security guards or the school peon noticed the accused and three other staying in the school, the principal said, “We  are semi government aided school, headed by a trust. We have budgetary constraints and hence have not been able to hire a full time security guard. One of our peons was on leave and the other was managing the halls and did not know anything about anybody staying in the hall upstairs.” The school which is one of the oldest schools in Dadar is a dilapidated condition. Corridors connecting parts of the building are not well lit and parts of the building has broken windows and most classrooms lack doors. The solitary peon guarding the staircase sits with a long stick ensuring the children don’t leave the corridor during school hours.

The principal did not give a clear answer when asked whether an internal inquiry would be held in the matter. “It is an unfortunate incident and the police are doing their job. Our teachers take good care of the children and same was the case on the day of the incident,”he said

Officials at the Shivaji Park police station informed that many schools in the area are yet to follow safety protocols advised by them. “We have repeatedly told schools and colleges to install CCTVs and have proper security staff. We also advise them to take care of the wards and ensure they reach home properly,”said a senior officer.

When asked why the school did not have CCTVs installed the principal informed that the move was under consideration. “We have informed the trust and they were looking into installing the same,”he said.

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