The gardener of a private school in Central Delhi’s Anand Parbat was arrested for allegedly molesting a seven-year-old student for the past few days.
It was also alleged that Shankar Lal (50), the accused, had threatened to stab the victim with a pair of scissors if she revealed the abuse to anyone, thus preventing her from sharing the incident with anyone for days.
The alleged incident was reported at Ramjas School, which has several branches in different parts of the Capital.
“Her parents reported the matter to us on Friday after which we called the police. It was the first time that either the girl or her parents brought the allegations of abuse to our notice,” said Divesh Gupta, the school’s manager.
Mr. Gupta added that Shankar Lal had been employed at the school for the last 28 years. He was suspended immediately after the matter was brought to the school’s notice.
The accused committed the crime when the victim waited for the arrival of her parents to pick her up after the classes.
“He would take her near the bathrooms when she was alone and would molest her,” said the police officer.
The girl’s parents grew suspicious when she refused to go to school. They questioned her upon which she narrated the entire incident to her parents.
“It was after he threatened to stab her with scissors that she refused to go to school. Her parents initially did not figure out what was wrong but soon grew suspicious that something was amiss. They then asked specific questions after which she revealed everything,” the officer added.
Police said the victim’s statement was taken and a first information report registered against Lal on Friday and he was subsequently arrested. Police said interrogation does not suggest that he had victimised more girls.
The school administration also claimed they have taken the incident seriously and have started working on improving any possible loopholes. “We have already started installation of CCTV cameras and we will expedite the project. We are working to take additional steps to prevent any such incident in the future,” said Mr. Gupta.
