BENGALURU: A three-and-a-half-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a supervisor of her pre-school in south-east Bengaluru.
Based on the complaint filed by the parents of the child and school authorities, the city police have registered a case under POCSO Act and arrested the supervisor, 32-year-old Manjunath. They also detained the principal of the pre-school, which is the franchise of a prominent chain.
Though the incident occurred on Friday, it came to light on Monday when parents shared the news on their WhatsApp group.
According to parents, their daughter complained of pain in her private parts on Friday after returning from school. The parents went back to school where the child identified Manjunath as the perpetrator.
The parents then took the child to a nearby private hospital to get a medical test done. After the test, the parents filed a police complaint and the police arrested Manjunath.
The parents of the three-and-a-half-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually abused by a supervisor of her pre-school alleged that the school authorities initially tried to defend the accused and refused to file a complaint.
They alleged that school authorities also tried to plead with them to withdraw the complaint. The parents added that they filed a complaint through the hospital after the school didn’t co-operate.
When Express contacted the school authorities, Dr Veena Ashok, director and principal of the school, denied the allegation. “We did not ask the parents to withdraw the complaint. Even we filed a complaint from the school’s side and terminated Manjunath immediately.”
Veena also mentioned that the school is co-operating with the police in investigation and provided all the necessary support. “The school is equipped with CCTV and we have given the CCTV footage to police. If the person really conducted a crime, then let the inquiry reveal it and punish him under the law. We will never support such crimes.”
She also mentioned that the accused was working with the school for the past eight years and that before joining this institute, he was employed with another pre-school for six years.
“The background check and all other formalities were done before taking him. This is the first complaint we had received against him in the school,” said Veena.
Confirming the incident, police said, “The accused was arrested based on parents’ complaint and the investigation is on. On Monday evening we detained even the principal of the pre-school under a negligence case filed by parents.”
The school has 150 kids with 35 teaching and non teaching staff. It has declared a holiday on Tuesday.