4-yr-old raped in school, manager arrested

MORADABAD: In what seems to be a rerun of the Bengaluru incident, a four-year old girl nursery student was raped allegedly by the school’s manager. The man was arrested on Saturday.
The matter was reported to the police by the parents after six days of the incident. The four-year-old was admitted to a private hospital.
The shocking incident took place inside the school premises on the afternoon of November 1, the child’s parents said.They said they took her to their family doctor as she kept crying continuously and complained of pain and uneasiness in her private parts. In fact, her behaviour changed, they added.
Parents told the police that during the medical check-up, the doctor discovered swelling in the private parts of the child.
It was then that the horrified parents learnt that their daughter had been raped. They said she told them that school manager Vipin Bhardwaj took her to the first floor of the school in the afternoon and sexually assaulted her. Parents also alleged that Bhardwaj had threatened her not to disclose the incident to her parents.
The child’s parents and local residents went to the school and protested against the sexual assault incident . Parents also alleged that Bhardwaj and his wife, who is the principal of the school. offered them Rs 1 lakh as compensation.
The parents then lodged an FIR against Bhardwaj on Saturday.
Speaking with TOI, SHO, Majhola, Neeraj Kumar said, “On the written complaint of the parents of the child, we have registered an FIR against the manager under relevant sections of the IPC and Prevention of the Child from the Sexual Offence Act, 2102. After medical examination of the girl confirmed sexual assault, we raided Bhardwaj’s house and arrested him.”
The accused was also medically examined at the district hospital on Saturday, said Neeraj Kumar. The police have also registered the statement of the child and her parents. During investigations, police took the child to the crime scene and she also identified the room where the assault took place.
Neeraj Kumar said on Saturday evening, police produced the school manager before the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Moradabad. The magistrate sent Bhardwaj to the district jail, remanding him for 14 days in judicial custody.