Parents take the online route to be heard

Angry and concerned parents have taken the online route to voice their reaction to the rape of a six-year-old student in a private school here.

Various petitions have been flooding the Internet listing not just disappointment but also demands to make the city safer.

Over 60,000 people signed a change.org petition by Pavithra Shetty, mother of a three-year-old girl, to make schools safer.

She has asked Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar to direct schools to take steps to make it safe, including conducting full background checks of employee and contractual staff, formation of a sexual harassment committee and installation of CCTV cameras. “This is about our children. This is the least we can ask from the schools,” she says in her petition.

Many supporters

Another petition by Maithreyi Nadapana, mother of two girls, found over 25,000 supporters by Saturday afternoon.

Preethi Herman, Country Lead, change.org India, said, “In less than 48 hours, more than 75,000 people have been mobilised on change.org. We are confident this number will grow rapidly to apply pressure on the government and schools to implement child safety measures. The abuse of children in schools however is not restricted to Bangalore alone. This is a nationwide emergency.”