Police say Bangalore student was gangraped as Vibgyor reopens today

Police are now calling the sexual assault on a six-year-old in a school in Bangalore a gangrape, after arresting two more gym instructors from the school. The school which was shut, following protests by parents once the rape had come to light, will reopen today with greater security measures in place. Incensed parents had laid siege to the school and took to the streets, even as pressure mounted on school authorities and the police to take action. [caption id=“attachment_1640687” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Parents of the children studying at a school in Bangalore had protested the sexual assault on a six-year-old there. PTI[/caption] “We have arrested the two culprits - Lalgiri, 21, and Wasim Pasha, 28 - working as gymnastic coaches in Vibgyor High school, on the basis of vital information the first accused (Mustafa) gave during interrogation, as well as through investigation by the special team set up for the case,” Bangalore Police Commissioner MN Reddi told reporters on Tuesday. Lalgiri and Pasha were arrested under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code - which deals with taking advantage of a person through a position of authority - and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They were sent to 14-day judicial remand by a local magistrate. “During preliminary investigation and interrogation, Pasha and Lalgiri admitted to have committed the heinous crime July 3 in the school premises, which has turned out to be a case of gang-rape,” Reddi said. Lalgiri hails from Nepal, while Pasha is a native of Gulbarga in the state’s northern region, about 650 km from Bangalore. On the other hand, the police said the 30-year-old skating instructor Mustafa alias Munna was not directly involved in the crime. Munna was arrested on 20 July and sent to judicial custody till 2 August. A mobile and a laptop containing videos of children being raped were seized from him. In a twist to the sensational case, Police Commissioner Reddi ruled out Mustafa’s direct involvement in the actual crime on the basis of interrogation of the student and investigation of circumstantial evidence, including footage from CCTV cameras in the school premises. “The child identified the main culprits and the CCTV footage shows them (Lalgiri and Pasha) forcing her to stay back so that they could commit the crime, after all other students left the gym classroom,” Reddi asserted. Police registered another case against Mustafa, who belatedly admitted to have sexually assaulted another minor in a school he was working in two years ago. “The case involving the sexual assault on the minor has been solved to the extent of identifying the culprits. We will intensify the investigation to find out the complicity of the school management, which hushed up the incident and failed to inform either the girl’s parents or lodge a complaint against the accused with local police,” Reddi added. (With inputs from IANS)