The girl’s maternal uncle, who has been standing with her like a pillar and doing all the talking to the media since the incident took place, told Swarajya earlier this week that they were turned away for the fourth time by a school. “The management told me they don’t have enough resources to ensure her security. You tell me, what does this even mean?” the uncle, a resident of Amethi in the adjoining state of Uttar Pradesh, said.

He narrated the episode: “We approached the school about two weeks ago through an organisation that has been trying to help my niece. Everything was going fine. We even deposited the admission and advance fee for three months. But on Monday, they called us to the school saying they want to talk. I was away from Delhi and asked my sister (the girl’s mother) to go. She was shocked when the management returned the money and told her, politely, that they have just learnt about the case and cannot give her admission.”

“They made the excuse that they do not have enough resources to ensure her security. But I know what they mean, I have heard it before. Nobody wants to deal with a rape victim,” he said.

“Please write that I am thankful to the organisation for their help. But they can only do so much. It’s up to the schools to take the final decision,” he added.

The uncle shared that it was only in the latest case that things even reached this stage. In earlier three cases, he said, the managements said ‘no’ in the beginning itself as they had been apprised of the matter.

Geeta quit her previous school after the family moved from Ghaziabad’s Arthala area to a locality in Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, some 20 kilometres away, in April. Geeta had just cleared her Class V. The crime took place two days after the family shifted to their new home on 19 April.