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Key Highlights A 21-year-old attendant allegedly digitally raped a four-year-old kindergarten student while she was returning home on the school bus

The attendant, hired a week ago, has been arrested

GURGAON: A 21-year-old attendant allegedly digitally raped a four-year-old kindergarten student of a well-known private school, part of a chain with campuses across NCR, while she was returning home on the school bus with other children.

The attendant, hired a week ago, has been arrested. There was no teacher or woman attendant on the bus.

According to the police complaint, the outrage took place last week. The girl’s parents said the attendant sat next to the child and sexually molested her as the bus approached their residential society in Sector 56. There were other students in the bus at the time. The attendant then dropped the child at the gates of the society, where she was picked up by her parents, police said.

On Monday, after the victim complained of pain in her thighs, her mother took her to a doctor. The doctor told the parents of the likelihood that their daughter had been molested. On further questioning by the parents, the girl told them about what happened on the school bus.

The parents immediately approached the police but were initially reluctant to file an FIR. However, cops at the Sector 56 police station convinced the couple to file a complaint, saying this would deter other offenders from committing such crimes.

The accused, Shambhu (21), a resident of West Bengal, had joined the job a week ago on a temporary basis, after the regular attendant went on leave to attend his mother’s funeral.

He was arrested on Tuesday and produced before the court a day later. He has been sent to judicial custody. “We’re questioning the school authorities and will be able to elaborate on their responsibility soon,” said a senior police official. All calls and text messages to the school went unanswered. Parents of other students studying at the school said the institute had a history of flouting safety norms. “Safety of our children is at risk at this school. We’ve asked them many times to employ woman attendants,” said a parent.

