Bengaluru school owner held for ‘raping’ Class 8 student; principal among 3 arrested

A couple running a Devanahalli residential school and its principal were arrested under the Pocso Act following a class 8 student’s sexual assault allegations.

BENGALURU: Three people — a couple who run a private residential school in Devanahalli, northeast Bengaluru, and the principal — have been arrested under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, following allegations of sexual assault by a class 8 student.The school has around 600 students studying in classes 1-10, including 150 girls.The case was booked after the 14-year-old student and her parents approached police Friday, accusing the school owner of sexually assaulting her, and claiming his wife and the principal failed to intervene. Cops have arrested the school owner on charges of raping the survivor while his wife and the principal are charged with assisting in the crime.

Police said they have interacted with other students to check if there were other such incidents.“For the last eight days, he continuously sexually assaulted and raped me. When I sought help from his wife and the principal, they said such acts are common these days and told me not to speak about it,” the girl stated in her complaint. The survivor claimed she was called to the warden’s office at night. “The school owner, in an inebriated condition, summoned me to the room and raped me. Unable to bear the torture, I told everything to my parents,” she said.