Image: PTI

One complaint of child sexual abuse at a Bengaluru playschool has opened a can of worms, with several parents now coming forward to reveal the horrors that their children have faced.

On Tuesday, parents of children attending the play school and child rights activists gathered outside the playschool and alleged that it was not the first time the accused, Manju had abused children at the playschool.

Parents say that many of the other children at the playschool have now come forward and informed their parents that they have also faced abuse at the hands of the accused.

“We went to the Marathahalli police station yesterday (Tuesday) at around 8pm and were there till 4 in the morning. Five more FIRs were filed against Manju, who has been accused of sexually assaulting the child. More parents have gone to the police station this morning to file more complaints,” one of the parents told TNM.

He said that his child revealed to him that Manju had tried to assault her, and that she complained to a teacher. But the teacher allegedly dismissed the issue and only gave a ‘warning’ to Manju to not repeat such actions.

The first complaint against Manju was filed on Friday, when a cild complained to a parent about stomach in the tummy. The parent then asked the kids questions, leading to the kid revealing that Manju had sexually abused him. 

Some parents alleged that Manju was also in the washroom when the children went in.

“Sexual assault is not the first thing parents think of when children say they have belly-ache. After the incident came to light, I asked my child if Manju had done the same with them as well. The response was shocking. My child said that’s what I have been telling you – that my belly is aching. When I asked my child to describe what happened, that’s when I realised that it was sexual assault,” said the parent of a four-year-old, who goes to the same playschool.

Some parents alleged that after speaking to their children, it was revealed that Manju was present in the room when the ayya would change their clothes before nap time and that he would volunteer to take the children to the washroom.

As the protests gather steam and more parents speak out, the Marathahalli police have arrested the principal and two other officials of the playschool. According to the police, the playschool’s zonal head, Kingston D’souza, principal Veena and a senior official named Praveen were arrested on Tuesday. The police say they have slapped Section 188 of IPC on the trio and have also booked them under various sections of POCSO.

But parents allege that the three officials were taken in for questioning, and were let out on bail in the evening.

The police meanwhile have said that they will record all the statements of parents who come forward. “We are still going through the CCTV footage to see if any of the cameras have captured suspicious activities,” said a police official.

Courtesy: The News Minute

A 20-year-old from the Kodigenahalli village in the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border died on Monday morning, allegedly because the government hospital she was admitted at lacked basic facilities. In fact, when Rathnamma was taken to the hospital on Saturday night, there were no doctors there to even look at her.

Rathnamma was suffering from high fever and cough on Saturday night. Her father and uncle took her to the Kodigenahalli Government Hospital at 10pm, but no doctors were present to treat her.

“We then took her to a private practitioner, Gopal Rao, in our village and he gave her a few medicines. Her condition got worse in the morning and she had trouble breathing. We took her to Dr Gopal Rao again in the morning and he said that she has to be hospitalised. At around 6.45 am, we took her back to the government hospital and the doctors were not there,” said the girl’s uncle Rajanna.

Rajanna said that it became difficult to understand what Rathnamma was going through as she was unable to speak. The father then went to the doctor’s house to inform him of his daughter’s condition.

“It was around 8.30 am when my brother went to the doctor’s house. The doctor told him that he would come to the hospital after breakfast. She was struggling to breathe and when the doctor arrived, he said that she needed to be taken to the Madhugiri Taluk Hospital, which is 20km away. There was no ambulance at the hospital and we were in the process of arranging a vehicle. It was too late and she passed away,” Rajanna added.

Rajanna said that it took too long to arrange a vehicle as they did not have enough money to rent one. “My brother-in-law was in town and since there was no ambulance, we borrowed his TVS scooter and took her body back home. They (hospital authorities) did not even help us arrange a vehicle to carry the body,” Rajanna added.

However, Kodigenahalli Zilla Panchayat member, Manjula, said that the doctors were present and that the family refused to accept help offered by several local leaders. She, however, admitted that the hospital lacks ambulance service and there is no round-the-clock medical service there.
“I have been urging the ZP members to get an ambulance for the hospital and also to have shifts for doctors. Currently, there are only two doctors and they work from 10am to 5pm,” she added.

The Kodigenahalli Councillor meanwhile claimed to media persons that the hospital does have an ambulance and that the girl’s family members were ‘stubborn’ and did not accept anyone’s help.

Courtesy: The News Minute