Bangalore's top cop on the case that has outraged the city
A group of angry parents demanded answers this morning at a private school in Bangalore where a three-year-old was allegedly sexually assaulted on Tuesday.
The fact that senior representatives of the school's management did not meet with them added to their outrage.
Just three months ago, Bangalore witnessed huge street protests after a six-year-old was raped at her school; two gym instructors were arrested in that case.
Amid growing outrage today, Bangalore's police chief, MN Reddi said that a special team has been created to handle the investigation.
"The father of the victim has given a complaint stating that the girl who is in a nursery class had gone to school as usual at 9:30 in the morning and came out at 12:30," Mr Reddi told NDTV. "When she went, she was cheerful, when she came out she was crying...On repeated questioning at home, she said, some uncle had hurt her. They took the child to a private hospital and the hospital authorities have confirmed there were a couple of bruises."
According to the complaint filed by the child's father, she "had signs of fever and complained to her mother that she was physically abused by someone she did not know or recognize."
A senior woman officer has been assigned to the case to make the child involved and her parents feel more comfortable with questioning and other aspects of the inquiry, the police commissioner added.
Police sources say that they are looking at whether school officials are guilty of ignoring basic safety checks like running detailed background checks on employees and ensuring school buses are equipped with video cameras.
Even though parents had a meeting with the school management on the issue, they were clearly not satisfied with what transpired.
"We have got our kids enrolled here thinking this is an institution where our kids safety is also taken care of. But right now it is like an institution where you pass on the buck to another," said a parent.