Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, May 11: The United Muslim Organization, Dakshina Kannada on Monday May 11 demanded that the medical report on the sexual assault of an LKG student by a school van driver should be revealed to the victim's parents.
The incident had taken place almost two months ago on March 13. The driver of a van belonging to Mangalore One school, where the three-and-a-half-year-old child was studying, had allegedly sexually assaulted her while dropping her home. The driver, identified as Madhukar, was arrested shortly after the incident came to light.
Addressing a press meet at Hotel Woodlands here on Monday, former mayor and convener of United Muslim Organization K Ashraf said, "The district administration is taking ambiguous stand in this case. The child's parents are being deprived of justice. Hence the district administration should reveal the details of the medical report to them."
He also alleged that the report submitted by the committee formed by the district administration was incomplete and 'twisted'.
further said, "After several protests and submission of memorandum to the government, the district administration formed a committee to probe the case, but the report submitted by the committee is incomplete and statement of the victim's mother has been twisted. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the report.
"Also, our organization had formed a fact-finding committee which has also been submitted to the district administration. However, there are a lot of contradictions between the reports submitted by the administration-appointed committee and our fact-finding committee," he said.
"We have also submitted the fact-finding committee report to the government and through a memorandum, urged the local MLAs, ministers U T Khadar and Ramanath Rai, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and MLC Ivan D'Souza to ensure that the medical report is given to the victim's parents within ten days," Ashraf added.
Lamenting that no action has been taken against the school, he said, "The school belongs to a retired police officer and we suspect that efforts are being made to close the case. Political leaders are silent on the issue which has further raised doubts.
"We will continue our struggle for justice. If the medical report is not revealed to the parents within 10 days, we will hold a strong protest in front of the DC's office and at the school premises. We will also hold massive protests involving students throughout the state," he warned.
He further said that the fact-finding committee of the United Muslim Organization has made the following observations and recommendations:
- The medical report by Lady Goschen hospital should be handed over to the parents of the child. 'It is their right'.
- Mangalore One School has failed in its responsibility. The school management is misleading the people with various definitions of the case.
- The investigation into the case should be stepped up and memorandum in this regard has been submitted to the ministers and the local MLAs and other elected leaders. The report of the investigation should be made available to the parents.
- The committee set up by the district administration in it sreport has established that it has found several discrepancies and shortcomings in the functioning of Mangalore One school. Hence, the school's activities should be suspended till the sexual assault case is decided upon by the court.
- Though the accused has been arrested, it is the school's irresponsibility that was the prime reason for the incident. The district administration, the police and the government should probe the school's role.