Bangalore rape case: Police arrests the chairman of Vibgyor school

Bangalore police arrested the chairman of the school where a six year old girl was allegedly raped by staff members of the school. Rustam Kherawalla, the chairman of the Vibgyor High School, was arrested this morning, for allegedly concealing information and trying to destroy evidence. Kherawalla has been charged under various sections of IPC, Juvenile Justice Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), section 201 of IPC (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) the police said.

The skating instructor of the school Mustafa had already been arrested by the police in the case. Mustafa had been thrown out of his earlier school, Deen's Academy, for "gross misconduct", something the present school had not checked into while employing him. 

Parents of the children studying in Vibgyor High had intensified their protest by seeking more than 10,000 signatures from parents from different schools and gated communities. The written petition with over 10,000 signatures will be submitted to Union Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani for expediting action against the sexual assault of the six-year-old girl studying in the first standard in the school premises on July 2. The incident came to light on July 14.

The school has remained close for a week now after the incident came to limelight and is expected to open next week.

Also read: Child Sexual Abuse: 11 don'ts for parents to keep in mind

The BJP also took to the streets on Tuesday to protest against the rape and the hesitation of the school to implicate the skating coach. About 300 BJP student activists waved flags, shouted slogans and tried to break through metal police barricades outside the Bangalore school where the roller skating coach was suspected of assaulting the girl. The coach has not been charged. "The school administration has been avoiding all our questions and is not ready to accept any responsibility... they are unwilling to take any action themselves or conduct an internal investigation," said student leader Nithin Gowda.

Also read: Can background checks and public registry of sexual offenders prevent child abuse?

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notices to Karnataka government by taking suomoto action after media reports on the sexual assault were out. "The contents of the media report raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of a child who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the teachers in her school. The act of the male staff attracts penal provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," the Commission observed.

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Also Read: Bangalore child rape case: Protest march in Bhubaneswar by school students

Students of KiiT International School in Bhubhaneswar a protest march on Wednesday against gang-rape of a 6-year-old girl in a school in Bangalore. They expressed grave concern over the alleged rape of a first grade student at a school in Bangalore. 

A large number of students holding placards staged a rally from KiiT International School to KIIT Square demanding speedy justice for the victim, a KIIT release said. Voicing deep concern on increasing incidences of rape and other crimes in schools, they demanded Government to take decisive steps to check the trend, it said. They demanded maximum punishment to the culprits under the law.