After Delhi and Bengaluru, now it’s Kolkata's turn to enter the dubious club of cities where schools have turned into scenes of sexual abuse. A four-year-old girl, who suffered from a heart condition, was sexually abused inside the G.D. Birla Centre for Education, a premier school in Kolkata for girls. The girl's father has accused the school of trying to bribe him to hush up the matter.
The incident led to massive protests by the BJP and Congress on Friday, demanding the arrests of the school principal and the accused, Abhishek Ray, who was a sports teacher in the school. Later in the day, Vishal Garg, joint commissioner of Kolkata Police, said Ray and Mohammad Mafijuddin, another teacher of the school, were arrested under provisions of the POCSO Act.
The G.D. Birla school is run by a prominent business group in Kolkata.
The little girl, who was admitted last year in the school, was allegedly taken to the toilet of the school by Ray.
“He then sexually abused my daughter there. How could he take my daughter to a ladies toilet?” asked the girl’s father.
The girl’s father said his daughter was suffering from a major heart ailment.
“Yesterday she came back from school and complained of abdominal pain. I took her to a doctor and she found blood in her clothes,” he said.
State education minister Partha Chatterjee sought a detailed report from the school.
“It’s a private school but I would do whatever I can do. This is a dastardly act,” said Chatterjee.
The incident took a major political turn after parents of other students barged into the school and sought explanations about the incident from teachers. After the death of a student at Ryan International School in Gurgaon recently, the West Bengal government had directed all schools in the state to install CCTVs and other security measures in the school.
“But the G.D. Birla school did not have any CCTV. Now they say that they would install it,” said Suman De, a parent.
The aggrieved father said he had paid Rs 1.5 lakh last year to get his child admitted in the school and paid a heavy amount every month as fees.
“But could they not give necessary security to my daughter? What is more alarming that they wanted to bribe me,” he alleged.
The girl is admitted in the state-run SSKM hospital, where her injuries were being investigated by specialists, including psychologists.
The BJP's Women Wing made a massive demonstration at Jadavpur police station and Congress activists followed suit.
“We have given few hours to the police. The criminals along with teachers who showed negligence should have been arrested by then. Otherwise we will show our might,” said Locket Chatterjee, chief of the BJP’s women’s cell.
Ananya Chatterjee, of the state Child Welfare Commission, said the child was lured by the teacher with a lozenge.
“It’s a disturbing and cruel incident. We have sought a report from them (the school). Lets see what action the school takes. Our action will follow then,” said Chatterjee.
