Rape of 6-yr old Odisha girl: Chairman of Bangalore school arrested

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Bangalore, July 23:

Bangalore police on Tuesday night arrested Rustom Kerawalla, chairman of Vibgyor High International School, where a six year old daughter of a techie from Odisha studying in class I was allegedly raped by a skating instructor and another staff member inside the school premises. 

“Our investigation team arrested Kerawalla from Daman & Diu Tuesday night and brought him to the city Wednesday for his culpability in the heinous crime,” city Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi told reporters here.

A case was also registered against the school for not informing the child’s parents and the area police about the incident, which occurred July 2 on its premises.

Reddi said Kerawala has been arrested under Section 201 of IPC, Section 23 of Juvenile Justice Act and the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse (POCSO) Act 2012.

The police commissioner had visited the school and discussed with parents their problems and measures needed for children’s safety on Tuesday.

The six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by the skating instructor and one more staff member of the school on July 02 within the school premises.

Hundreds of outraged parents and students on Saturday and Sunday took out protest rallies in Bangalore demanding stern action against the accused and the concerned school authorities over the alleged sexual assault inside the premises of Vibgyor High School in the city.

The school has remained shut since July 17 following protests by parents over the management’s alleged attempt to hush up the heinous crime and its failure to take action against the accused.

On Sunday, Bangalore police had arrested the accused skating instructor, a paedophile, Mustafa alias Munna (30) for the alleged rape of the six-year-old girl.

Police have charged him under Section 376 (rape) of IPC and Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act.

Mustafa had allegedly tried to subject at least four other children to sexual abuse in the last three years. He was also using photos and videos of his victims for pornographic purpose, police had said after his arrest.

The school has been directed to employ adequate women security guards and prepare background profiles of all staff members and those employed on contract for non-curricular and non-academic activities.

The school has also been directed to stop allowing outsiders to use its swimming pool before and after school hours and stop private tankers from drawing water from its tube wells on its vast grounds.

The parents also complained to the commissioner on Tuesday that the school management had forced them to give an undertaking it would not be responsible for any untoward incident, loss, damage or injury to their wards in the school premises.

The issue had also rocked the Odisha Assembly on July 21 with the opposition putting the government on the mat while demanding for sending a secretary level officer to Bangalore to seek facts. The Odisha government’s Home secretary and his Karnataka counterpart were in constant touch over the issue and the leader of the opposition in the Odisha Assembly had spoken to the Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over the issue and had demanded immediate arrest of culprits.

The National Human Rights Commission has asked the Karnataka government to send a report on the alleged rape of the six-year-old.