MUMBAI: Byculla police arrested a 59-year-old woman support staff of a reputed south-central Mumbai school on Monday evening for allegedly inappropriately touching a four-year-old student .

The accused has been booked under the stringent Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The accused will be produced before a court on Tuesday for remand.

The school has suspended the accused. The police initially said the parents filed the complaint only in the evening. “We called the parents but they did not approach us at first. We tried to contact them over phone and with messages but they did not respond,” said a senior police officer. “We have registered an FIR and arrested the accused,” said zonal DCP Virendra Mishra.

The parents complained to the school principal on Monday morning after the girl spoke to a cousin about the alleged crime.

She had been complaining of abdominal pain for a week.

Her father said she had been hesitant about going to school for over a week. “She had been complaining of stomach ache for a few days and did not want to go to school. We tried asking her for the reason but she refused to divulge it. However on Sunday night, she told her cousin that someone was touching her inappropriately. We took her to a hospital and she underwent a gynaecological investigation.” The parents approached the school on Monday morning.

The principal told TOI: “We called for a meeting of parents and members of the executive body. We called two school helpers who would interact with the children regularly and the girl has identified one of them. The staffer has denied the allegations but we have suspended her pending investigation.”

The accused has been with the school since 25 years and was due to retire in May next year. “She lives on campus and we have never had any complaints against her in the past,” said the principal.

Meanwhile, the school plans to add a clause to its child protection code of conduct. “The code of conduct is given to all staffers and we meet with them three times a year for the same. Following the incident, we are adding a clause that should a staffer be found involved in a complaint of child sexual abuse , he or she would be suspended until the inquiry is complete,” said the principal.

MLA Warish Pathan, who represents the locality, said, “I went and met the school authorities after I heard of the case. Many parents are worried. The girl had identified the accused when she was brought along with seven-eight other women staffers in a senior office bearer’s room. This is shocking. There should be a thorough investigation and the guilty must be punished.”

