Protest march in Bangalore against rape case in school; staffers likely to be arrested today

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, July 19, 2014:  The Karnataka police is likely to arrest two teachers accused of sexual assault of a six-year-old student in Vibgyor High School in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, parents are holding a protest march in the city against the authorities.

State Home Minister KJ George had on Friday said the accused would be arrested on Saturday as the police had conclusive leads in the case.

After an hour-long meeting with top police officials in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, George added: "We will soon set up fast-track courts cross the state to try all rape cases expeditiously to convict and punish the guilty. We will also increase the number of women police force and provide additional vehicles to step up patrolling during beats".

Hundreds of enraged parents on Friday demanded arrest of the two teachers. "We want the two accused arrested and tried in a fast-track court to do justice to the child victim. Why are they (police) not acting fast? How long they want to interrogate the accused," Nandish Reddy, a parent of a ward reading in the school, had told a news agency here.

Earlier, Reddy had said: "There is an attempt to destroy evidence and hush up the crime. We suspect the school management is trying to protect the accused, as it failed to register a case when the minor told her class teacher July 9 that she was sexually abused by the sports teacher and physical instructor in a room."

Protests continued in front of the posh school on Friday, as hundreds of Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists joined the parents and sought action against the management for failing to provide safety to students.

The parents sought the arrest of the accused, as police only detained them for interrogation after the victim’s parents filed a complained against them. The school has remained shut since Thursday.

Though the horrifying incident occurred on July 02 in the premises of Vibgyor High School, it came to light on July 15 when the victim’s parents lodged a complaint with police, as the school management failed to act against the accused.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has directed the ICSE board to cancel the school’s recognition.

State commissioner for public instruction Mohammad Mohsin said: "We have written a letter to the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) board to cancel the recognition it granted to Vibgyor High School, in which a minor student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two of its staff members."

The commissioner also issued a show-cause notice to the school why no objection certificate (NOC) issued to it by the state government should not be withdrawn in light of the horrific crime on a minor student.