BHOPAL: In a shocking incident, an eight-year-old girl was allegedly sexually abused in the newly built washroom of a government school in Koh-e-Fiza locality on Friday afternoon.
The accused pounced on the minor girl, who was newly admitted to the school merely six days back. He grabbed her from behind, closed her eyes, smothered her mouth and took her into the washroom where he disrobed her and sexually abused her. However, hearing the noise of other children, the accused fled the spot leaving the minor.
The minor saw the accused fleeing from the spot and later identified him with the help of a yellow shirt and red trousers which he was wearing. Koh-e-Fiza police reached the spot on getting information from the school teachers and registered a case on charges of rape against the accused under relevant sections of IPC and POCSO Act. He was arrested after the minor identified him by the colour of his clothes.
SHO Koh-e-Fiza Vijay Sisodia said that the survivor, hails from Sagar district and recently her family had shifted to Bhopal. Her father works as a mason while mother is a homemaker. The minor was recently admitted to class 4 at a government school located in Koh-e-Fiza locality around six days back. The school timings are from 10.30am to 5pm.
SHO Sisodia said that the minor in her complaint stated that on Friday around 1.30pm when she was going to the newly constructed washroom during her lunch break, an accused grabbed her from behind and closed her eyes with his hand. The accused smothered her mouth and dragged her into the washroom. He disrobed her and sexually abused her. However, he heard the noise of other children and fled the spot.
SHO Sisodia said that the girl was alert and informed police that she saw the clothes of the accused while he was running away. He was wearing a yellow shirt and red trousers. She started crying and reported the matter to a school teacher.
SHO Sisodia said that on receiving information about the incident from the school, Koh-e-Fiza police immediately reached the spot and registered a case against unidentified accused on the basis of the girl's complaint. During counselling, the girl revealed the details of the clothes worn by the accused and his appearance details. Police discussed the matter with the school teachers and rounded up the suspect matching the details. When he was brought in front of the girl, she identified him.
SHO Sisodia said that the accused was identified as Laxminarayan Dhanak, 26. His wife works as a sanitation worker at the school and they reside in the school premises. When police interrogated the accused, he confessed to his crime.
The SHO said that there were good quality CCTV cameras installed in the school but the DVR on which the camera recordings are stored, was not working for the past two days. So, the accused was not captured on the CCTV cameras while abducting the minor. The washroom where the incident took place has been newly constructed. The school children do not use it but as the survivor was new to the school, she was not aware about it. There were no teachers present near the spot as the children do not use the new toilet. The accused was arrested and further investigations were on.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
