Peon Allegedly Rapes Minor Girl in Delhi School, Arrested

The incident comes close on the heels of the murder of a 7-year-old at a Gurgaon’s Ryan International school.

Signatures on an anti-rape banner. 

(Photo: Reuters)

A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a peon inside the premises of a private school in Gandhi Nagar area of Shahdara in Delhi on Saturday, 10 September, the police said. The accused, identified as Vikas (40), has been arrested, said Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police, Shahdara.

The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial probe into the matter, and asked for the report to be submitted in the next three days. The school will also remain shut for three days, reported ANI.

The incident comes a day after a seven-year-old boy was gruesomely murdered for resisting alleged sexual assault by a bus conductor in a Gurgaon school, which sent shock waves across the country.

Also Read: Ryan School Murder: Police Want Trial of Accused Fast Tracked

NDTV quoted the police as saying that Vikas was under the influence of alcohol when he allegedly committed the crime.

According to Hindustan Times, the child initially refused to talk about the assault and opened up after a counseling session by the doctors in the hospital where she was taken for a medical examination.

The victim’s accurate description of the perpetrator helped the police nab the alleged accused, a peon in the victim’s school.

The accused however, denied sexually assaulting the child, maintaining that the girl had wrongly identified him. When asked whether he was drunk, he said, "I have a quarter everyday, so what?"

The incident has drawn reactions from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who ordered a magisterial enquiry. DCW Chief Swati Maliwal also issued a notice to school and asked for report to be submitted within 72 hours and a copy of the CCTV footage.

The accused, Vikas, had been working in the school for the last three years. He was previously employed as a security guard in the same school, the police said.

Police said that the accused took the girl inside an empty classroom at around 11:45 am, after he had handed over the lunchboxes to the teachers. He raped the girl and then threatened her of dire consequences, they added.

The matter came to light after the girl complained of bleeding and pain in her private parts to her mother. She was taken to a hospital where her medical examination confirmed sexual assault, the police said.

Traumatised by the incident, the girl was sent for counselling.

According to the police, during her counselling session, the child said she was assaulted by "a man wearing a cap" and also described his physical attributes.

On the basis of the description, Vikas was nabbed, the police said.

(With PTI inputs)

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