Bangalore: Thousands march seeking justice for 6-year-old rape survivor

Bangalore: Pressure mounted on the state government over the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl in a public school as protests continued for the fourth day today demanding action from police which have detained eight persons for questioning. Agitated over police failure to make any arrests, civil society activists and parents of students studying at the city-based Vibgyor School are staging a protest at Freedom Park here while in other parts of the city, BJP Minority Morcha and ‘bikers association’ staged protests. Venting their ire, the protestors demanded that police take action and immediately arrest the guilty and punish the school management for not taking prompt action. The incident occurred on 2 July, but came to light on 15 July. According to a report in the Times of India , close to 3,000 people marched, demanding action against the culprits. “When over 3,000 people, mostly parents, marched from the school to the HAL police station, 6km away, Bangalore stopped for them. Nobody honked despite the heavy traffic jam. En route, people came out of their apartments and joined the walk. Some waved from their homes,” the report says. [caption id=“attachment_1626197” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Parents of school children protest the rape of a 6-year-old in Bangalore. PTI[/caption] A woman member of the Red Brigade, a forum created on Facebook to raise voice against series of rape incidents taking place in the city, said, “The government should stand up to protect us (women) and girl children from the hungry predators on the prowl.” “We as women also have the responsibility to vent our anger and fight to give justice to the rape victims,” she added. Another Red Brigade representative said, “It is really shocking that rape incidents are taking place more in numbers. The police should immediately arrest the guilty even as police are interrogating the eight detained persons.” “Their arrest will increase faith in the police and the government, which has taken a beating,” he said. The recent incident has left parents concerned about the safety of their children at school. “I have a daughter. I fear for her now. If I cannot trust the school, where else can I send her? It’s a shame,” the report says quoting Nidhi Tandon, a city based-jewelry designer. As anger is mounting against the authorities, Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar is expected to visit the venue to address the protestors. The state government has written to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Board to derecognise the school as it comes under its ambit as ICSE school. The alleged rape of the girl by “unknown persons” has triggered protests from outraged parents, who suspect involvement of school staffers, as also from civil society. This incident and the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman in a car here on 10 July has led to an outpouring of public anger. Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar, who later addressed the hundreds of protesters, assured them that action will be taken against the guilty and school management for alleged “inaction”. “We have solved blind cases (cases which did not have clues) in the recent past and will crack the Vibgyor School rape case as well,” Auradkar said. Auradkar sought people’s cooperation in the police endeavour to punish the guilty. “We are interrogating the detained persons. Whatever action is needed to be taken, we will do it…whether the guilty belong to the school management,” he said. He said as per guidelines framed to provide safety to schoolchildren, senior police officials, including Deputy Police Commissioners, will hold meetings with the school managements from tomorrow. He said very shortly the police control room will make arrangements for receiving messages from citizens on whatsapp, a phone application. Auradkar also said the department is sensitising police officers to treat rape cases with seriousness and file FIRs against the accused. However, the assurances of the Police Commissioner did not convince protestors who demanded that police immediately arrest the guilty and take action against the school management. With inputs from PTI