Expressing concern over cases of child sexual abuse in the city, a group of about 45 parents met with City Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Aurakar on Friday to discuss the issue of safety of children.
The group started an online petition on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ events/651777781550426/ 651783211549883) in view of the recent case of a two-and-half-year-old pre-school student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the school van driver on January 8.
One of the parents, Gayathri Ananth, said they were aghast that no action had been initiated against the school in which the incident took place. “We learnt that there is no regulatory body for pre- schools and no background checks are done on such employees,” she said.
Ms. Ananth said they would form a support group specifically for parents to discuss such issues. The intention of the group would be to get regulations regarding pre-schools to be put in place. The other issue is to ensure that schools where such incidents occur are taken to task, she explained.
The group plans to approach the Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin to discuss the issue further.
Meanwhile, the Child Rights Commission, which is probing the case based on the victim’s complaint, is in the process of verifying documents pertaining to the case that is registered with the HSR Layout police. Once the verification is completed, action can be initiated against the school, said a representative of the Commission.
