The arrest of the man, said to be in his mid-30s, was followed by protests by the school's students' parents that the principal be also held.
Prants protests outside the Banjara Hills Police Station on Tuesday, 18 October, 2022. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
The Hyderabad City Police on Tuesday, 18 October, arrested the driver of the principal of a school in the Banjara Hills area of the city on allegations that he had been sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl for around two months.
The arrest of the man, said to be in his mid-30s, was followed by protests by parents of students of the school that the principal be also arrested.
They claimed the police let the principal go after bringing her to the Banjara Hills Police Station.
Beginning in the afternoon, the protests — outside the Banjara Hills Police Station — stretched into the night, and were continuing at the time of the writing of this report.
Their demands were bolstered by Congress leader and former Telangana MLC Ramulu Naik Sabavath.
Showing solidarity with the parents, he told South First that he had urged the area’s Assistant Commissioner of Police, M Sudarshan, to take immediate action in the case, and also arrest the principal.
“It was the responsibility of the principal to stay with the parents of the survivor. What if this had happened to her own children?” he asked.
According to the lawyer who helped the parents of the survivor lodge the police complaint, they approached him on Monday evening after the girl revealed that she was being assaulted.
Even otherwise, the parents had been noticing that the girl had become dull in her demeanour for around a couple of months, he said.
On Tuesday morning, the family, accompanied by the lawyer, approached the school management and narrated the girl’s ordeal to them.
The lawyer, in the police complaint, said the principal refused to take any immediate action. He added in the complaint that the principal should also be arrested, otherwise she might tamper with evidence.
The family then accosted the driver and called the police, who came and took him into custody.
He has been charged under relevant sections of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and also of rape under IPC.
The lawyer said the girl’s medical examination had confirmed rape, which Station House Officer M Narendra of the Banjara Hills Police Station confirmed to South First.
Meanwhile, her statement was recorded at a Bharosa Centre.
The parents at the protest told South First that the driver — identified by many of them as one Rajni Kumar — was given additional responsibilities at the school, including supervising students in a class when the teacher went out for a bit.
However, some others made allegations of a much more serious nature, which South First could not independently confirm immediately.
In one case, one parent said, the driver put all the children in a room and locked it from the inside.
In another instance, he conducted a computer class, even though the parents did not know what qualifications he had to do so.
#Hyderabad: Parents protest at #BanjaraHills police station after 5yr old allegedly sexually assaulted for around 2 months by driver of principal of her school.
Accused booked under #POCSO & #rape charges.
Parents demand arrest of principal.@TheSouthfirst @shobanjarahills pic.twitter.com/RH0EIkevE5
— Ajay (@ajaytomarasks) October 18, 2022
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