Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on Tuesday, 13 September, demolished the house of a bus driver who was arrested for allegedly raping a nursery student inside the vehicle.
The police supervised the demolition which took place in Bhopal's Shahpura area, as men armed with hammers destroyed the house.
The authorities cited ‘illegal construction’ as the official reason for carrying out the demolition.
The Madhya Pradesh police had arrested the bus driver and a woman attendant, who, according to the child’s parents, was present in the vehicle when the incident took place on 8 September.
The parents filed a complaint on September 12 and a case has been registered under Section 376-AB (rape on a woman under 12 years of age) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Incident
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the parents, the three-and-a half-year-old child was returning home from school in the bus when the incident took place.
After the girl returned home, her mother enquired why the child’s clothes had been changed to the spare set kept in her bag. On pressing further, the child revealed that the “bus uncle” changed the dress and that he “touched her badly” on her lips, face, chest and private parts.
When the parents went to the school the next day, the child identified the bus driver. Despite the school bus being equipped with a CCTV camera, the leading private school said that footage of the day was not available.
'School Administration Will Be Investigated'
Meanwhile, state home minister Narottam Mishra alleged that the school management tried to cover up the matter.
“The role of the school administration will also be investigated. People from the school management will be questioned. I also believe the school management tried to cover up the matter," he said.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has written to the Bhopal district collector and sought a detailed report into the incident within the next three days, while the school education department has constituted a three-member probe panel to investigate the matter.
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