Angry parents protested outside a school in Kolkata after a Class 1 student was allegedly molested
Echoes of Bengaluru are being heard in Kolkata. Hundreds of angry parents today protested at a school in south Kolkata demanding the immediate arrest of a school bus driver who had allegedly molested a lower kindegarten student. The parents were angry with the school for failing to take action a whole week after the incident. Rumours that the victim was grievously ill and in hospital made things worse.
Police say the molested girl is physically all right. Rumours about her critical condition had panicked angry parents who gathered at the school demanding answers from authorities. The vice-principal spoke but said little and that sent tempers soaring.
"A school is a home away from home. If that trust is broken, what else is there?" shouted one parent whose daughter studies in class 4.
Another mother, whose daughter studies in class 1, added, "Our request to the government. Do something. We want protection of the child so that parents can send the children to school without worrying. We are scared."
After hours, police emerged to confirm that the girl's parents had filed a complaint with the school which had been forwarded to the police yesterday. "We have received the complaint which was filed 6-7 days ago. After that, we have contacted the parents," said Santosh Pandey, deputy commissioner of police.
The school, in a statement late this evening, has said it received a complaint of sexual abuse on November 3. At an internal probe, the girl who mentioned a 'red shirt' seemed to be afraid of a sweeper in a red shirt but also said the man wearing the red shirt, who abused her, was on a bus. The complaint was sent to the police on November 8.
The school statement adds that the girl has been regularly attending school after the incident. However, parents are not satisfied. The school, they say, must stop sending girls to an outside venue to rehearse for a cultural event. The molestation had allegedly happened during such an outing.