A day after the driver of a private school’s principal was arrested for allegedly raping a four-year-old, the principal herself was also arrested by Hyderabad police on Wednesday, October 19. Parents of the child, a student of the private school in the upscale neighbourhood of Banjara Hills, had blamed the principal Madhavi (55) for negligence, as the child was allegedly sexually assaulted in a digital classroom of the school over the past two to three months. The parents have questioned the school authorities for giving unchecked access to the school premises to the driver Rajani Kumar (34), and often entrusting him with monitoring students, although he wasn’t an employee of the school. The principal has now been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
The incident came to light on Tuesday, when the parents confronted the principal and the driver at the school. While Rajani Kumar was arrested on Tuesday, the principal Madhavi was arrested on Wednesday. The mother had told the police on Tuesday that her daughter, who has been studying in the school for the last five months, had been complaining of pain and distress for nearly two months. After the mother further coaxed the child on Monday, she told her that a man working in the school took her to a room on the premises and sexually assaulted her, a police release said.
The girl's parents rushed to the school to inquire about the matter. As they were entering the premises, the girl identified Rajani Kumar, her mother said. The girl's parents were of the opinion that the incident indicates the principal's negligence. They requested that action as per law be taken against the accused and also the principal, they said. The driver and the principal were booked 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), and Section 21 (punishment for failure to report or record a case) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
With PTI inputs