The police have identified the accused helpers, but they are yet to be arrested.
Highlights
- Doctors at the hospital said she was violated with sticks and stones
- The child was initially taken to a private hospital in Kondapur
- The police have identified the accused helpers, but they are absconding
A three-year-old girl has been sexually abused at a posh pre-school in Hyderabad, allegedly by two people employed as helpers. Doctors at the hospital where she received treatment, said she was violated with sticks and stones, in a horrific reminder of the sexual assault and murder of the 23-year-old paramedical student in Delhi in a bus seven years ago.
Police sources said the child was taken to a hospital after she started having nightmares. Later, bloodstains were detected on her clothes as well.
She was taken initially to a private hospital in Kondapur and later to the premier government's hospital, Niloufer hospital, in the city. She has been discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home.
"It was alleged that the ayahs (who were taking care of the children) had inserted a stone in the private parts of the child. The child was sent for medical examination," said Venkateswara Rao, a senior officer of the local police.
The child's parents work as software engineers in Madhapur, a software hub in the outskirts of the city.
The police have identified the accused helpers, but they are absconding, the office said.
A case has been registered under the strict Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The horrifying case has shocked rights activists. Hyderabad-based child-rights activist Achyutha Rao has demanded immediate arrest of accused and said the institution must be closed for failing to provide safety to the child.
Cases of child abuse have been spiralling in Telangana. According to reports, Hyderabad has witnessed more than 30 such cases by March this year. Five years ago, following a spate of cases in Bengaluru, the city police had laid down a set of tough guidelines for the city's schools that involved installation of security cameras in the school premises.
In 2012, a 23-year-old died after she and her friend were lured into a bus by six men and attacked in Delhi. The woman was violated repeatedly by an iron rod. The horrific case had sent shockwaves through the nation and triggered huge protests in the national capital.