<<Back

Horror story: KG girl molested in minibus

(Times of India, September 4, 2002)

Click here for actual article.

Pune: The nightmare has turned real. With the arrest of the driver-cleaner duo of a private Matador minibus which was being used as an unofficial ‘school bus' to ferry children to a prominent English-medium school in the city, the shocking reality of child sexual abuse has come out of dark corners to haunt parents and teachers alike in Pune.

The incident has once again highlighted the appalling lack of safe, reliable transportation for the city's school children, a problem which school managements, the government and parents alike have been blithely ignoring.

Accused of molesting a three-and-a-half year old Kindergarten (KG) schoolgirl on August 23, the driver-owner of the matador; Rajkumar Sawant (30) and his cleaner Saudagar Sonawane (21), were arrested under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on August 30.

According to the police, the incident took place on the afternoon of August 23 when the girl was being dropped to her Vishrantwadi home. The girl's mother (name withheld on request) told TNN on Tuesday. “The medical tests have confirmed that the hymen has ruptured, confirming a case of molestation.”

Following the medical tests, the parents lodged a first information report (FIR) with the Jail Road Police Chowky in Yerwada on August 29, accusing the driver-owner and his cleaner of molestation.

The FIR, CR 199/02, is presently lodged with the Pune Railway Station police chowky, which is investigating the case. Assistant police inspector (API) Ajay Chandkhede told TNN on Tuesday afternoon that the two were arrested under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on August 30. They were produced before the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), where they managed to get bail.

However, the police once again arrested them on Monday under the ‘preventive action' clause (section 110) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc). API Chandkhede informed TNN that the accused have been detained in the Yerwada jail until investigations in the case are complete. “We are confident of convicting the accused as we have overwhelming proof of their crime,” he added.

The school authorities informed TNN that 30 parents from the Vishrantwadi area, whose children are mostly from the kindergarten section and travelled in Sawant's minibus, had submitted a petition urging the school to provide official transportation to and from the school.

The school authorities, who did not want the name of the school to be mentioned, said they were considering ways of solving the transportation crisis.

Meanwhile, the parents, whose children travelled in Sawant's minibus, have pulled their children out from the bus service.

<<Back