7-yr-old sexually assaulted in Vasco school toilet - Herald

7-yr-old sexually assaulted in Vasco school toilet January 15, 2013 VASCO: At a time when crimes against women and children have angered the nation, a shocking incident has been reported in Vasco involving the sexual assault of a 7-year-old girl in the toilet of a prominent school on Monday morning. Shocked by the incident, hundreds of people surrounded the school in the evening and accused the school of various lapses, besides condemning the delay in sending the schoolgirl for a medical check-up. According to reports, the incident took place at about 10.30 am, when an unknown person entered the school premises. While neither the police nor staff at the school was willing to narrate the sequence of events, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who visited the school late Monday evening, told the waiting reporters that the accused was, in fact, caught even before the sexual assault had taken place, after he was found moving in the school in a suspicious manner. “The culprit was caught by the staff before the incident could take place and he was produced before the headmistress. When asked to justify his presence in the school, the accused told the headmistress that he had entered from the second gate, which is manned by a security guard, of the school compound. He then proceeded to the third gate leading into school building,” said Parrikar. “Instead of merely asking him to leave the school premises, the headmistress should have locked both the school gates to prevent him from entering the school a second time,” said Parrikar, while holding the headmistress responsible for negligence. There are two gates leading into the school premises, of which only one gate (towards the higher secondary section) is manned by a security guard. The man then returned to the school during recess and escorted a 7-year-old girl to the school toilet on the first floor, where he sexually assaulted her. The girl raised an alarm and the man fled from the site. Some students from Std 3 and 4 reported the matter to the school headmistress, who in turn, notified the school management and the girl’s parents. The school management then filed a complaint with the Mormugao Police. Police claims to have received the complaint at about 12 noon and a police team rushed to the site, which is barely a kilometre away from the police station. At about 3 pm, senior police officials comprising DGP Kishan Kumar, South Goa SP Shekhar Prabhudessai, Mormugao DySP Lawrence D’Souza, Mormugao PI Suresh Gaonkar, Vasco PI Rupendra Shetgaonkar, SP (Crime) Om Prakash Kudchadkar, DySPs (Crime) Sammy Tavares and Nilu Raut Dessai, PI Sunita Sawant and Women’s Police Station PI Ezilda D’Souza, went to the school to take stock of the situation. The police officials also interacted with the girl, her parents and the school authorities, and also requested a local woman activist and MMC Councillor Tara Kerkar to interact with the schoolgirl. As investigations were in progress at the school, agitated residents from Sada began to assemble outside the school. During this time, Power Minister Milind Naik and Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida made separate visits to the school to enquire about the incident. The schoolgirl was sent for a medical test at GMC hospital at 6.15 pm and she was accompanied by her parents, PI Sawant and PI D’Souza. By 7.30 pm, hundreds of agitated residents gathered inside the school compound and virtually held hostage the police officials, the headmistress and some teachers in the school building. They wanted the headmistress to appear before the crowd and to clarify the various lapses leading to the incident. What angered the crowd was a delay in sending the girl for a medical test till 6.15 pm, over seven hours after the incident was reported. Residents were also agitated that the management had not installed any CCTV cameras in the school premises, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify and nab the culprit. They also came down heavily on the lack of security posted at both main gates of the school and were also critical of the many tankers and heavy vehicles stationed outside the compound wall which, they said, could easily be a hiding place for anti-social elements. A strong police force was dispatched from various police stations in the taluka to control the mob and to move them outside the school building. Speaker Rajendra Arlekar visited the school late in the evening and tried to persuade the crowd, but they refused to pay heed to his assurances. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was on a personal visit to the port town, decided to go to the school and tried to interact with the agitators. He was, however, greeted with jeers as the people were in no mood to listen to him. He then met the police officials and headmistress, who were virtually held hostage by the mob. Before leaving the school, Parrikar spoke to reporters at the site and held the school headmistress responsible for negligence that had led to the incident. When asked if it was a case of rape or sexual assault, Parrikar admitted that “the report is positive.” To a query on the delay by police to send the girl for a medical check-up, Parrikar explained the traumatised girl had to be first calmed down and added that the girl’s mother had reached the school only by 1.30 pm. He also pulled up the school for failing to install CCTV sets and said that the Goa Police had acted swiftly in the matter. “As soon as I was informed of the incident at 1 pm, I directed the DGP to transfer the case to the Crime Branch and I asked senior police officials to rush to the site. Strict action will be taken against the accused, while a case of negligence will be initiated against the headmistress of the school,” said Parrikar. After the chief minister left the school premises, the headmistress was escorted out of the school with a strong police team to prevent any untoward situation. The crowd later dispersed from the site. Mormugao police has registered a case in the matter. Sources told Herald that the medical report has been kept on hold even as the police are on the lookout for the accused. http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/7-yr-old-sexually-assaulted-in-Vasco-school-toilet/69401.html