Mumbai police seek ministry’s help bring back trustee booked for rape of three-year-old

Mumbai city news: On May 18, the police registered a case against the 57-year-old founder-trustee and a nursery teacher for allegedly raping the kindergartner

The Mumbai police have asked the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to help them get in touch with the trustee of a suburban international school, who was booked for allegedly raping a three-year-old. A French national, he is on vacation in Paris, even though the students he was accompanying on a school tour returned this month.

The state’s child rights panel, which took suo-motu cognisance, had called the school and the police for a hearing on Wednesday, where the police told the panel that the trustee has been unavailable for questioning, despite repeated summons (HT)

On May 18, the police registered a case against the 57-year-old founder-trustee and a nursery teacher for allegedly raping the kindergartner. Her mother approached the police after she noticed bruises on the girl’s private parts. According to the police, the teacher used to take the girl to the trustee’s room, where he allegedly raped her multiple times.

The state’s child rights panel, which took suo-motu cognisance, had called the school and the police for a hearing on Wednesday, where the police told the panel that the trustee has been unavailable for questioning, despite repeated summons.

“The police told us that they had written to the MEA to connect with the French embassy for their help in bringing him back to India,” said AN Tripathi, secretary of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

“He is in Paris on a vacation, we are unsure about his date of return,” the principal told HT over phone.

The child rights panel pulled up the school for not installing CCTV cameras on its premises. “CCTVs do not prevent such cases but makes investigations easier,” said Tripathi. He added that the panel had asked the police to submit a report on why the school did not follow safety norms recommended by the panel. “We had circulated dos and don’ts to be followed by schools,” said Tripathi.