Updated
Bangalore, July 19 (IANS): Hundreds of angry parents Saturday protested the delay in arresting the two teachers accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old student in a privately-run school in the city's southeast suburb.
"We have submitted a memorandum to Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar seeking arrest of the culprits and stringent action against the school management for hushing up the criminal act," Nandish Reddy, a parent, told IANS.
Auradkar assured the agitated parents of action against the culprits later in the day but did not say if the accused would be arrested, as demanded by parents.
"I request you to have faith in us. We are going to take action against the accused. Have patience and bear with us as our officers have been working 24x7 over the last four days in investigating the case," Auradkar told the parents.
About 500 social activists and youths also joined the agitated parents in staging a 4km-march protest from the school to HAL police station and demonstrated over the delay in acting against the accused.
"We want justice now, as we have waited enough for the police to act. It is four days since the complaint was lodged (July 15) and an FIR was registered but the accused have not been arrested yet nor the school's management interrogated," Reddy, a former BJP lawmaker from the city's assembly segment, said.
The parents, majority of them working in the IT sector, were also upset over an hour-long delay by Auradkar in reaching the police station though he was informed Friday about the protest march to submit the memo.
"I am sorry for keeping you waiting by reaching here late. I was waiting for an updated on the case. There was a delay but our officers have been on the job. The moment the initial investigation is completed and credible evidence collected, I will take action and come back to you," Aurdakar told the parents, trying to pacify them.
Sharing the grief and anger of the parents, Auradkar said the incident was inhuman and condemnable.
"All of us are pained by the incident. It is shameful. The perpetrators will not be spared. Though the incident happened 18 days ago (July 2), there was a delay in knowing about it, as the child was in trauma and her parents took time to complain about the incident," Auradkar said.
Rejecting the commissioner's assurances, parents wanted the arrest of the culprits and investigation of the school management for its criminal negligence in not taking action against the accused and the class teacher.
The march from school premises to the police station was peaceful. Some protesters raised objections when former minister and BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali wanted to join the march, urging him not to politicise the matter.
"From the day we received the complaint from parents, our officials are continuously following the case and investigation is on," Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Panth told reporters here.
He said, "In this case as the child is involved we can't repeatedly call the child...., we have to cautiously investigate this case, so there might be delay in the progress of the case but it should not be interpreted as police is not doing their duty. A team of 20 officials was involved in the probe, he said.
In further trouble to Vibgyor High School, Karnataka government has written to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Board to derecognise it as it comes under its ambit as an ICSE school.
The alleged rape by "unknown persons" which reportedly occurred on July two but came to light on July 15, has triggered severe protests from outraged parents, who suspect the involvement of staffers, as also from civil society.
The school incident and the alleged rape of a 22-year old woman in a car here on July 10 has led to outpouring of public anger.
In the July 10 midnight incident, the woman who was sitting in a car with her friend near her apartment was allegedly abducted and raped by one of the four men who forcibly got into their car and took them away in the same vehicle to a nearby railway track and committed the crime.
With PTI Inputs
Amnesty International wants schools to protect girl students
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jul 19: The rape of a 6-year old student in a private school in Bangalore has brought to light the need for clear guidelines and mechanisms to ensure that schools can put a stop to instances of sexual violence and other abuse, Amnesty International India said today.
Tara Rao, Director of Human Rights Education at Amnesty International India, said: "Authorities need to frame clear policies to prevent violence against children in schools."
The 6-year old girl was raped allegedly by two staff members within the school on July 2 but a formal complaint was filed only late last week.
"The Juvenile Justice Rules acknowledge the need to address sexual violence in schools, but authorities have not developed clear guidelines for schools on identification of abuse, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow up, and appropriate judicial involvement," she said.
Authorities must develop and disseminate these guidelines, and hold schools accountable for failing to adequately respond to allegations and instances of sexual violence.
International law and standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – to which India is a state party - emphasise the need for schools to focus on child-centric approaches through the involvement of all members of the school community to prevent such violence and abuse.
"Schools must institute mechanisms that enable concrete pre-emptive steps to prevent such acts of violence, including by carrying out sensitisation and training programmes where the views and experiences of children are counted. Schools should be safe and secure environments that support and promote children’s dignity and development," said Tara Rao.