Bangalore, Oct 22 (IANS): A three-year-old girl studying in a private school in Bengaluru, earlier known as Bangalore, was allegedly sexually abused on Tuesday in her nursery class, police said on Wednesday.
City Police Commissioner M N Reddi, who visited the school immediately after the complaint was lodged on Tuesday, has ordered a probe by ACP (Malleshwaram) Sarah Fatima.
The case was registered under sections 4 and 6 of the Pocso Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) and section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the unidentified suspect(s).
According to the complaint, the girl's mother found her daughter crying and behaving unusual and abnormal when she went to pick her up from the school in the evening.
"The victim had signs of fever and complained to her mother that she was physically abused by someone she did not know or recognize," the complaint by her father said.
School officials were not available for comment on the incident due to Diwali holidays from Wednesday till the weekend.
"We are checking the footage of the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the school and questioning its staff and faculty," police inspector TC Venkatesh said.
Reddi visited the school late Tuesday with his Deputy (north) TR Suresh and Fatima for spot inspection and questioning the school authorities.
Parents protest, staff being questioned
Meanwhile, the staff members of the school are being questioned in connection even as parents outraged over the incident held protests and demanded answers from the management.
The incident triggered protests from parents who gathered at the campus seeking answers from the authorities of the "international" school.
"I'm shocked that the incident has happened in this school where the atmosphere was so good, I have come here to know from the management what has happened. I have been to this school, security is good here," the parent of a child studying in the school said.
He said, "Till now no one from the management has spoken to us. There is a parents association which we have formed through which we are trying to approach and get answers."
"If it is true that the incident has happened in the school, then we will definitely support that child and try to get justice to her," another parent said.
This is the third such incident to happen in a school campus in recent months in Bangalore.
An eight year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by her 63-year-old teacher inside her school premises over a period of time, with the offence coming to fore in early August, barely a month after the "gang-rape" of a six-year-old girl at a school evoked public outrage.
The incident saw public erupt in anger on the streets, leading to police issuing stringent guidelines to schools to ensure safety of children and the government amending the Goondas Act to bring sexual offences under its ambit.