Child rape case: Protesters take out march, demand action; School faces de-recognition from ICSE

Bangalore, Jul 19: Hundreds of protesters today staged a silent march from the school where a six-year-old girl student was allegedly raped to a police station demanding justice for the girl and swift action against the guilty. Parents of students studying at Vibgyor High School, which is facing the brunt of public anger for its alleged inaction, were joined by a large number of people in the march which culminated near HAL Police Station.

As the protesters demanded his presence, Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar rushed to the venue and told them, "We are hugely pained by the incident...have trust in the police." Auradkar said from the day police received the complaint from the child's parents, officials were on the job round-the-clock.

"The incident involves a minor girl. We have to deal with the case carefully and respond sensitively keeping the girl in mind." The protesters questioned the police chief on the status of investigation and why no arrests had been made to which Auradkar requested them to send a small batch of representatives to him as discussing it in a public meeting would hamper the probe.

The march from school premises to the police station was peaceful. Some protesters raised objections when former minister and BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali wanted to join the march, urging him not to politicise the matter.

"From the day we received the complaint from parents, our officials are continuously following the case and investigation is on," Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Panth told reporters here.

He said, "In this case as the child is involved we can't repeatedly call the child...., we have to cautiously investigate this case, so there might be delay in the progress of the case but it should not be interpreted as police is not doing their duty. A team of 20 officials was involved in the probe, he said.

In further trouble to Vibgyor High School, Karnataka government has written to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Board to derecognise it as it comes under its ambit as an ICSE school. The alleged rape by "unknown persons", which reportedly occurred on July two but came to light on July 15, has triggered severe protests from outraged parents, who suspect the involvement of staffers, as also from civil society.

The school incident and the alleged rape of a 22-year old woman in a car here on July 10 has led to outpouring of public anger. In the July 10 midnight incident, the woman who was sitting in a car with her friend near her apartment was allegedly abducted and raped by one of the four men who forcibly got into their car and took them away in the same vehicle to a nearby railway track and committed the crime.

PTI