Trial begins in Mumbai school sexual assault case

According to the complaint, the 57-year-old trustee of the school assaulted a four-year-old student sexually in 2016.

The trial in the Andheri school sexual assault case began at the Dindoshi sessions court on Thursday, with
the examination of a panch witness.

A 57-year-old trustee of a Mumbai-based school allegedly assaulted a four-year-old student sexually in 2016. (HT File (Representational Image))

According to the complaint, the 57-year-old trustee of the school assaulted a four-year-old student sexually in 2016. The girl’s mother alleged the child’s class teacher took her to the trustee’s room.

In her testimony, the panch witness, a social worker, said as she lived near the school and had seen the police van enter the premises on May 20, 2017, after a complaint was filed, she
was asked to act as a panch witness.

The witness said the room, where the alleged assault took place, has wooden railings, which act as a separation from the corridor. She told the court there were gaps between the railings, which meant people could see the goings on inside.

The witness said she was taken to the trustee’s office and the police made a panchnama in front of her, she said. Defence counsel Harshad Ponda, appearing for the trustee, and advocate Ashok Gupte, appearing for the teacher, cross-examined the witness.

The advocates showed the photograph of the room and she confirmed the room was the classroom she had visited at the time of panchnama. The trustee was arrested by the MIDC police on November 7 last year and released on bail a few weeks later prompting the complainant to move the high court seeking cancellation of bail.

The Bombay high court cancelled his bail and expedited the matter. Following this, the trustee approached the Supreme Court to seek a stay on the HC order, but the court ordered him to surrender.