BENGALURU: An awareness programme on crimes against children conducted in a school brought to light a case of sexual assault. After the programme, a 15-year-old girl told her teacher that she was being sexually assaulted by a man known to her family for over a year now.
The girl has accused Vimal Sharma, a native of Bihar, of assaulting her regularly. Sharma was then picked up by the police based on a complaint filed by the girl.The girl told one of her teachers that Sharma would often visit her family and would sexually assault her. The teacher immediately alerted the NGO which had conducted the awareness programme and the volunteers took the girl to Yelahanka police station to file a complaint. The victim, a Class 6 student in a government school, had discontinued her education in between.
A senior police officer said that Sharma had befriended the girl’s mother, who works for the housekeeping team in a private company. She had separated from her husband a few years ago and was living with her daughter. Sharma had managed to gain the family’s confidence by providing financial assistance to them and would often visit their home. “He had threatened the girl not to say anything,” a police officer said.
Police said that according to the NGO, the girl’s mother knew about the assault but chose to remain silent. Police is yet to record the girl’s statement. Both the girl and the accused were subjected to medical tests and he was later handed over to judicial custody.