Bus Driver Rapes Nursery Student in Madhya Pradesh, Attendant Among Two Arrested
The police have arrested the bus driver and a woman attendant who was inside the vehicle during the incident.
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(Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape, child sexual abuse. Reader discretion advised.)
A bus driver allegedly raped a three-and-a-half-year-old nursery student inside the vehicle in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Police said on Tuesday, 13 September.
The police arrested the bus driver and a woman attendant who, according to the child's parents, was present inside the vehicle when the incident took place on 8 September.
The parents filed a complaint on 12 September, after the child studying in a leading private school in the city, complained of pain in her private parts, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nidhi Saxena said.
A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code Section 376-AB (rape of a woman under 12 years of age) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, she said.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra alleged that the school management has been trying to cover up the incident.
“The role of the school administration will also be investigated. People from the school management will be questioned. I also believe the school management tried to cover up the matter," he said.
What Had Happened?
On the day of the incident, when the girl returned from the school, her mother found that someone had changed the child's clothes with the spare set kept in her bag.
The mother then inquired with her daughter's class teacher and also the school principal, but both of them denied having changed the child's clothes.
The child later complained of pain in her private parts. Her parents took her into confidence and counselled her, following which she informed them that the bus driver had abused her and also changed her clothes, the police said.
The parents went to the school the next day to complain to the authorities and the child identified the driver.
The police are trying to find out the exact spot where the incident took place and the survivor's medical report is awaited.
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