PUNE: Police probing the sexual assault on a Std VI student by a man in the washroom of her school at Shivajinagar on Wednesday said most of the CCTV cameras covering the institute did not have the recording facility.
Senior inspector Anita More of the Shivajinagar police said, “The school is covered by around 20 CCTV cameras and most of them do not have a recording facility. However, some CCTV cameras at the entrance of the school have the recording facility.”
The girl had first shared the incident with her classmates, who alerted the teachers. After meeting the teachers, the girl’s mother lodged a police complaint on Wednesday evening. The police quoted the complaint as stating that the girl, like other days, had walked to school from her house on Wednesday. As she entered the school, the man, who was waiting somewhere around the playground leading to the main building inside the premises, approached the girl and started talking to her in a friendly way, the police said.
“The girl also answered his questions. However, on reaching the verandah on the ground floor of the school building, the man grabbed the girl, pushed her into the washroom and committed the crime. This section of the school was secluded and no one noticed him,” More said.
“The man threatened the girl of dire consequences if she spoke about the incident before leaving the spot. The traumatised girl was admitted to hospital. However, doctors said she is out of danger. We have invoked section 376 (rape) of the IPC against the man,” the officer said. The police also invoked sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
More said some CCTV cameras of the school that were functioning had footage of the man walking on the school premises. “The school is covered by around 20 CCTV cameras and most of them do not have a recording facility. However, some CCTV cameras at the entrance of the school have the recording facility. We are examining the footage for further probe,” she said.
The school authorities had dedicated the morning sessions to the Class X board examinations, while regular classes were starting in the afternoon.
“On Wednesday, there was no Class X board examination. The school was supposed to start at 11.30am. But since many students from far-off areas reach the school by bus, the gates were opened around 10.25 am,” the school principal said.
“About 16 of the CCTV cameras covering the hallways and classrooms are working. We can check the live images from the central location. But the disk that records the footage was not working. Hence, not much recorded footage was available till Wednesday. We put the recording disk in place on Thursday morning,” the principal said.
“The girl informed her classmates about the incident and they told the teachers. We immediately contacted the Damini squad and the student’s parents, who rushed to the school. We are supporting the student and the parents in every possible way,” the principal said.
A parent, whose daughter is also in Std VI at the school, said, “I was anguished to hear of the incident and did not send my daughter to school on Thursday. I hope the culprit is arrested at the earliest and the school takes measures to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.”
She said, “The school is strict and does not allow outsiders on the campus. Van drivers also drop the students outside the school. I came to the school on Thursday because my elder daughter had her Class X board exam.”
