Parents and guardians of students held a sit-in protest demanding their children’s security and arrest of the school’s principal on Sunday, after a minor girl was allegedly sexually abused inside a south Kolkata school by two physical training (PT) teachers on 30 November.
The agitating parents first blocked the road near the school premises in south Kolkata’s Ranikuthi and then marched to Tollygunj where they held the sit in. The protesters were joined by several parents of students from other prominent schools in the city.
A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by two PT teachers inside a washroom in in the high-profile GD Birla Centre For Education on Thursday. Both the accused have already been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and sent to two days of police custody till Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, the father of the victim lodged a police complaint against the school’s principal, claiming that she tried to cover up the issue and indirectly supported the crime.
“We have lodged a police complaint against the principal. This is not the first time that such an incident has taken place in her school, it has happened before as well. In spite of knowing the incident, the principal initially did not take any steps against the criminals,” said the lawyer appointed by the victim’s family.
“The principal should be arrested because she supported the crime instead of reporting it to police. She tried to cover up the issue. So she has a part in the crime,” she added.
The agitating parents carried banners and placards condemning the assault on the minor girl. They created a massive road graffiti of a child student asking for her security, as a symbolic protest to the incident of sexual assault.
“The schools would have to ensure their children’s security and make sure no such untoward incident takes place in the future,” one of the parents demanded.
They also warned that the school would not be allowed to operate till the principal resigned, taking responsibility for the incident.
Police appealed to the agitators to remove the blockade and suggested they hold a meeting with the school’s management committee to resolve the disputes.
“We have proposed to the guardians and the representatives of the students’ forum to sit in a meeting with the management and other stakeholders and place their demands there. That would help resolve the disputes,” said Rupesh Kumar, Deputy commissioner of Kolkata police’s south suburban division.