School vandalized after kid sexually abused by staffer

MUMBAI: The Bhandup police on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old non-teaching employee of a private school who allegedly sexually assaulted a four-year-old junior KG student on December 9. Following the arrest, locals went on the rampage in the evening, pulling out furniture from the school and setting it on fire.
While the minor’s mother and grandmother had remained mum about the incident fearing social stigma, some locals came to know about it.The girl had stopped going to school since the incident. According to locals, the victim’s mother and grandmother, who live in Bhandup (W), feared being attacked by the school management if they approached the police with the complaint.
As the news spread like wildfire, an NGO wrote about the matter to the Zonal DCP. “Immediately, order was issued to the Bhandup police to track down the victim’s address and an FIR was registered on Tuesday midnight,” said DCP (Zone VII) Vinaykumar Rathod. The child’s mother agreed to lodge the FIR after the police and the NGO convinced her to do so.
The accused, Kesarinandan Upadhaya, was arrested after the minor girl identified him. He was produced before the Mulund metropolitan magistrate court on Wednesday and has been sent to police custody.
“The child narrated the incident in presence of a woman police officer. She complained that Upadhaya took her to a toilet on the school premises where he sexually assaulted her. On reaching home, she complained pain in her stomach to her family members,” said senior inspector P R Chavan.
Refuting allegations that the police initially tried to shield the accused at the school’s behest, Chavan said they acted promptly and went searching for the victim as soon as they received the NGO’s application. “The civic hospitals in Bhandup and Ghatkopar did not inform us. It is their duty is to alert us when a patient undergoes a check-up,” Chavan said.
However, doctors from both civic run hospitals refuted the police claim. A doctor at Savitribai Hospital in Bhandup (W) said that when the girl was brought to the hospital, they referred her to Rajawadi Hospital. “It is true that the minor girl was brought by her grandmother and mother for medical examination. But they left without getting any treatment after the girl complained of stomach pain. According to guidelines, we inform cops when a patient is admitted. There is nothing on record,” said a Rajawadi hospital doctor.
TOI tried speaking with the school trustee, Dhananjay Singh, but he didn’t respond to calls. The accused has been booked under IPC sections 354 (A) and 376 (rape) and also under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
accused arrested