Patiala sexual abuse case: Parents of 8-year-old victim, NGOs stage sit-in; seek FIR against school for laxity

The parents of an eight-year-old sexual abuse victim along with guardians of other children staged a sit-in and blocked a road in SST Nagar, Patiala, demanding registration of a case against the school management.

As the crime allegedly occurred on the school premises multiple times, the protesters accused the management of laxity.

Civil society groups and activists from various NGOs also joined the protest, raising slogans against the school management.

As the road remained blocked, the protest led to a massive traffic jam, leaving commuters stranded.

The case pertains to Auro Mirra School in SST Nagar where the victim was allegedly sexually abused by a physical education teacher. The FIR lodged on October 13 states that the victim was abused on the school premises and her medical examination has revealed that it happened multiple times.

One of the police officers probing the case stated that the possibility of involvement of another person could not be ruled out. There could be others who were directly involved or were used to keep a vigil during the crime, he said, adding that since the child was still in trauma, they were taking time to get more details from her.

“The medical examination of the victim has revealed that she was sexually violated multiple times and a probe is currently on,” confirmed SP (City) Palwinder Cheema.

“We have questioned the school authorities and also confiscated the CCTV footage from the school premises. Prima facie, the victim has identified the accused, who was arrested earlier this week. A probe is now being held as per the laid down procedure under the POCSO Act,” Cheema said.

According to sources in the Police Department, they are now seeking help from government counsellors and the district child protection office to ascertain if any other student faced any kind of harassment inside the school.

Auro Mirra School principal Chinmayie maintained that the instructor was suspended as soon as the matter came to their knowledge.  The school authorities extended full support to the investigation agency and also to the victim’s family, she claimed.