Three-year-old nursery school student raped in Bhopal, 2 arrested

Bhopal police additional commissioner (women cell), Nidhi Saxena, said the incident took place on September 8.

Updated on: Sep 13, 2022, 12:11:33 IST

By Shruti Tomar, Bhopal

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Bhopal police on Monday arrested a driver and a bus attendant of a prominent international school in Bhopal for sexually assaulting a three-and-a-half-year-old student, police said.

Bhopal police on Monday arrested a driver and a bus attendant of a school in Bhopal for sexually assaulting a 3-and-a-half-year-old. (Representative use)

Bhopal police additional commissioner (women cell), Nidhi Saxena, said the incident took place on September 8. “The girl was sexually assaulted by bus driver on September 8 in the presence of a woman attendant. The driver also changed her school dress with a spare dress (kept in her school bag) that is mandatory for nursery students,” she said.

When the girl reached home, her mother noticed the change of dress and enquired about it.

“She asked the girl who had changed her clothes, and came to know about the involvement of the school bus driver. Later, the parents of the girl raised the matter with the school authorities. The girl informed her parents that driver touched her face and body and also sexually assaulted her. The mother told us that a few days ago that the girl had complained of pain in her private parts, but she didn’t pay much attention.”

The main accused, Hanumant Jatav (31), and bus attendant Urmila Sahu (28), have been booked under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Pocso Act.

Bhopal commissioner of police, Makrand Deoskar, said: “The bus has CCTv cameras but the school informed the police that they used to delete the footage every two to three days.”

The school principal said, “We are cooperating with the police. The driver joined the school two months ago after police verification.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More