Protestors demand justice for Bangalore child rape victim

Thousands of parents, college students and school students taking out a protest rally protesting rape of the six-year-old in Bangalore. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Protests demanding justice for the six-year-old child who was raped earlier this month in a school in Marathahalli, continued in the city on Monday. Hundreds of police were deployed to prevent violence. H.R. Umesh Aradhya, Chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights visited the school to investigate the case.

PTI adds:

ABVP workers clash with police

Protests over alleged rape of a six-year old girl turned violent on Monday as activisits of Akhil Bharathi Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) clashed with police in front of the public school, where the incident happened, leading to a lathicharge.

After heated arguments, ABVP activists who besieged the Vibgyor High School, which is facing public anger for its alleged inaction in the incident, tried to forcibly make their way into the building as police struggled to prevent them.

As protesters broke barricades and tried to gain entry through another gate, policemen used lathis and chased them away, causing minor injuries to several persons in their action and the melee, police said.

ABVP demanded that the school management representative meet them, while they raised slogans for “most stringent action” against its employee, a skating instructor who was arrested yesterday in connection with the July 2 incident.

“We were peacefully protesting, we wanted the management to come out and respond to us about its inaction in this case; but police here manhandled us, they manhandled our women protesters, no women police staff are present here,” a protester alleged.

However, when questioned, a police official at the spot said, “no one was pushed or manhandled, we were just trying to restrain them. Adequate woman staff is present here....”

The high-profile school is facing allegations of trying to hush up the case, as the alleged incident came to light only after a police complaint was lodged on July 14.

Protests were also held at Freedom Park by BJP’s youth wing and near Town Hall by its women wing, with their activists raising slogans against the Congress Government over its “failure” to curb rising sexual offences against women and children.

The 31-year-old skating instructor Mustafa, hailing from Bihar, was arrested yesterday six days after the incident came to light triggering public outrage and strong protests.