Daily Times

Nursery school student raped in Bhopal:

A driver and a bus attendant from a well-known international school in Bhopal were detained by police on Monday for sexually assaulting a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, according to authorities.

Bhopal police additional commissioner (women cell), Nidhi Saxena, said the incident took place on September 8. “The girl was sexually assaulted by a bus driver on September 8 in the presence of a woman attendant. The driver also changed her school dress with a spare dress (kept in her school bag) that is mandatory for nursery students,” she said.

When the girl reached home, her mother noticed the change of dress and enquired about it.

“She asked the girl who had changed her clothes, and came to know about the involvement of the school bus driver. Later, the parents of the girl raised the matter with the school authorities. The girl informed her parents that driver touched her face and body and also sexually assaulted her. The mother told that a few days ago that the girl had complained of pain in her private parts, but she didn’t pay much attention.”

The main accused, Hanumant Jatav (31), and bus attendant Urmila Sahu (28) have been booked under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Pocso Act.

Bhopal commissioner of police, Makrand Deoskar, claimed: “The bus has CCTV cameras but the school informed the police that they used to delete the footage every two to three days.”

The school principal said, “We are cooperating with the police. The driver joined the school two months ago after police verification.”