A shocking case of sexual abuse of minor girls allegedly by a 12-year-old boy at a crèche primarily meant for wards of government employees has surfaced following a complaint by the mother of a five-year-old victim.
The woman also accused the crèche management of attempting to brush the matter under the carpet.
The person running the institution has been booked for not reporting the offence to the authorities concerned.
The incident came to light on August 11 when the girl disclosed to her mother that she was being sexually abused by a boy at the same crèche. This would happen when the children were asleep. The distressed mother told the police that the boy, pretending to be asleep, would prey on his victims when there would be no attendant inside the room.
The victim’s mother immediately took up the matter with the crèche supervisor, asking her to urgently hold a meeting with management representatives. However, the supervisor allegedly refuted the allegations and refused to take any action. The supervisor refused to be moved even after the victim herself narrated the incidents to her and other crèche staff.
While the management representatives initially did not take any interest, the boy’s parents once had a heated exchange with the other parents. The complainant then learnt that two other girls in the crèche were sexually abused by the boy in the past. That time, too, the crèche management had allegedly buried the matter. Hoping that this time they would take action against the supervisor and set things right, the parents wrote to the management.
Two days later when the complainant went to drop her daughter, she found the crèche locked. She was told that the management representatives would hold a meeting with the parents concerned on August 16 to address the issue. After the meeting, the crèche staff informed her that the accused boy would not be allowed to stay after September 1.
But, to their shock, the complainant and the parents of two other victims were told that they should not bring their children to the crèche till August 26. And a few days later, the complainant was asked to keep her daughter home till a decision on the issue was arrived at by the management.
The girl’s mother also alleged that despite repeated requests in the past, the crèche management had not held meetings to resolve the problems faced by the children or their parents.
Based on a complaint lodged a couple of days ago, the Delhi Police have registered a case under Section 10 (commission of sexual assault) and Section 21 (failure on the part of the institution in-charge to report commission of an offence to the police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Confirming that a case has been registered a senior Delhi Police officer said investigations are under way to ascertain whether the crèche management was at fault.
