“If a kid takes 15-minute bathroom break, shouldn’t the teacher check on him/her," asks the four-year-old's relative, adding a few days ago, some parents had informed the class teacher about the arrested accused’s “misconduct”, but she didn't pay attention. The school has alleged the CCTV system was not working for 15 days, but the family suspects the evidence has been tampered with
A close relative of one of the two four-year-old kindergarten students, who were allegedly sexually abused by the cleaning staff on the Badlapur school premises, said the child is still in shock.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the incident took place in the school toilet on August 13 and the parents informed the police on August 16. They alleged the FIR was filed 11 hours after their complaint. The accused cleaning staff member, Akshay Shinde, 23, was arrested on August 17, while the school management has suspended the principal, a class teacher and a woman attendant. Badlapur on Tuesday erupted in anger over the incident and police insensitivity, vandalising the school premises and causing a rail roko for 10 hours. Three police officers have been suspended.
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‘DADA MISBEHAVED’: HER CLASSMATE’S CASE LED TO SUSPICION
“After the incident, the child refused to go to school. She was not even walking properly. We thought she might be having a urinary tract infection. We, however, noticed that she was avoiding going to the washroom,” said the relative (name withheld to protect the identity of the survivor).
“We then learned about an incident involving her classmate. Her classmate’s father and our relative’s grandfather are friends. The other parent mentioned that his daughter told him a ‘dada’ (elder brother) misbehaved with her, which prompted their family to go for a medical test. After this conversation, the grandfather decided to get our child tested too, as she was reluctant to go to school or pee," the relative said.
#BreakingNews | NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule protests over #Badlapur incidentMayuresh Ganapatye @GrihaAtulpic.twitter.com/U2f6wWodAx
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 21, 2024
‘MADE TO WAIT FOR 12 HOURS FOR 2 DAYS; COPS WERE NOT FILING FIR’
The family was shocked with the results, which indicated sexual assault. “We somehow managed to gather the courage to file a police complaint. On August 16, we went to the police station with the girl and the initial medical report. We were made to wait for 11-12 hours. We reminded them twice to take our complaint, but the staff just kept responding rudely. They repeatedly asked us to stand outside the police station. Finally, we approached a local political leader, who used her influence to get our complaint lodged,” the relative said.
“After the FIR was filed, we were asked to undergo a medical test at a government hospital. We were asked to be there at 9 am the next day, so we reached by 8.45 am. The police delayed the procedure. They arrived around 11 am,” the relative said.
ALSO READ | 11-Hour Wait For FIR On School Sexual Assault: How Police Insensitivity Pushed Badlapur Over The Edge
‘TEACHER IGNORED COMPLAINT AGAINST ACCUSED; PARENTS, GIRLS SCARED TO REPORT CASES’
The relative also mentioned that they suspect there could be a few more cases in the school, but parents and girls are afraid to come forward.
According to the relative, a few days ago, a few parents had informed the class teacher about the arrested accused’s “misconduct”, but she didn’t pay attention. “If a child is on a bathroom break for 15 minutes, shouldn’t the teacher check on her/him? More so because the restrooms are far from the class and attendants assist the students,” the relative said.
‘CCTV SYSTEM NOT WORKING, MANAGEMENT MIGHT HAVE TAMPERED WITH EVIDENCE’
After the incident, when the family approached the school for CCTV footage, the school denied access, saying the system was shut down for the past 15 days. The family also alleged that the school management might have tampered with the evidence.
The family told News18 that police has asked them not to speak with anyone or attend any protest.
