Six-Year-Old Raped In Toilet Of A South Delhi School, Are Schools Really Safe For Kids?

Another rape story of a kid in one of Delhi schools, how long till our kids are finally safe in this country?

Delhi, capital of India, more like rape capital of India is a bizarre place to live in. And, we have already admitted to this, with statistics showing that more than 5 women are raped in Delhi, every day. While the number is constantly growing, we have grown accustomed to this data. We are constantly telling our women to dress safely, don’t go out, don’t exist and don’t live. However, with the recent rise in cases against kids being assaulted in an atmosphere as safe as school, very little victim blaming can be done.

A six-year-old was raped in the toilet of a south Delhi private school by one of the male member of the housekeeping staff of the institute. The sweeper was hired a fortnight ago by the institute after a thorough police identification. The 22-year-old has now been arrested by the Delhi police.

The suspect had sexually assaulted the class 1 student on Wednesday in the school toilet. However, he has denied the charges and said he was merely just helping the kid as a woman attendant was not present at the moment.

The parents of the six-year-old filed a police complaint after the kid got home from school at 2.30 pm and narrated the entire incident to her mother. The parents rushed to the school principal and called the police. The girl was later taken to AIIMS where the doctors confirmed the rape and told the parents that the kid would have to go under surgery in order to treat internal wounds.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has ordered a magisterial probe into the case.

The father of the kid told Hindustan Times, “She had been sent downstairs for some work. After using the washroom, my daughter called the woman for help but a male employee entered and assaulted her sexually. My daughter shouted and rushed to her class.”

The entire crime now put questions to the adequacy of having a police clearance certificate which is often considered a must for hiring in places like schools. The suspect was cleared and verified by the Delhi police, last year. A school official said the suspect submitted the certificate and promised to “renew it in a day or two”.

On Thursday, the sub-divisional magistrate visited the school and issued a notice to the school management. A team from the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights is supposed to visit the campus on Friday.

This six-year-old’s rape case comes in the wake of a horrendous crime that shook the country, less than a month ago. In the past two months, a class 2 student was killed in the washroom of Gurugram’s Ryan International School and a five-year-old was raped in the washroom of a private school in East Delhi.

At the end, we don’t know how many more cases like these have to come, till we finally get a safe environment for our kids. Moreover, how many more rape cases till we finally get a safe environment for everyone in this country.

Jyotsna Amla