Delhi: Police hunt for 2 boys after 11-year-old raped in Kendriya Vidyalaya

An 11-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped inside a Kendriya Vidyalaya washroom by two senior students in July, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said on Thursday, adding that it has issued a notice to the Delhi Police asking them to provide a copy of FIR and arrests made in the matter.

Police, however, said no arrest has been made in the matter as yet as they received a complaint regarding the alleged incident only on Tuesday and an FIR in the matter was registered on Wednesday. They refused to reveal who filed the complaint, but said further probe is underway. The name of the area where the complaint was filed has been withheld since the rape survivor is a minor.

“There was no delay in registering the FIR. A case under Section 376D (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act has been registered and investigation has been taken up,” a senior officer said, asking not to be named.

The matter came to media attention only after the DCW made a statement that it has issued a notice to the Delhi Police and Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) to share an action taken report in the matter. DCW officials said police informed them of the matter on Thursday.

According to DCW, the 11-year-old girl was raped in July this year. She was on her way to her classroom when she collided with two boys who were senior students of the same school, studying in classes 11 or 12. “She said she apologised to the boys for bumping into them but they started abusing her and took her forcibly into a toilet. She alleged that the boys locked the toilet door from inside and raped her,” a DCW official said, asking not to be named.

Quoting the girl, the DCW further said that the girl informed her teacher about the sexual assault. She was later told that the boys have been expelled from the school. The matter, according to the DCW, was “hushed up”.

DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said, “We have received a very serious case of gang rape of an 11-year-old student inside a school in Delhi. The girl has alleged that her school teacher tried to hush up the matter. It is very unfortunate that even schools are unsafe for children in the capital. Strict action must be taken in the matter. Also an inquiry into the role of school authorities must be conducted on the issue.”

A senior official from the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) said the incident was neither reported to the school nor the principal. “Neither the child nor the parent reported the incident to the school authorities. The school only came to know when the police told them about the incident on October 4. The regional branch of KVS has initiated an inquiry immediately (the same day). They are also cooperating with the police in the investigation,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

The KVS will also send a detailed response to the DCW, he added.

“The commission has asked Delhi Police to provide a copy of FIR and arrests made in the matter by October 10. The commission has also asked Delhi Police and the school to provide information on action taken against the school teacher or any other staff for allegedly not reporting the matter to the police. The commission has asked the principal to inform it as to when the school authorities learn about the matter and what action was taken by them. The commission has also asked the school to furnish a copy of the inquiry report in the matter,” Maliwal said in a statement on Thursday.