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Days After Minor Complained of Molestation, MP Police Arrest Accused

Bhopal: Five days after a 3-year-old school kid’s mother complained of molestation, Madhya Pradesh police registered an FIR and arrested her play school owner on Tuesday evening. The MP Police drew ire from all quarters before the Director General of Police intervened to get the case registered.

As the locals mounted pressure on police, the accused was arrested and the Thana in-charge of Kolar police station Gaurav Singh Bundela was accused of shielding the culprit. A picture of the two in the same frame is doing the rounds on social media.

The mother of the girl, who studies at a reputed play school in Kolar area, had learnt of the sexual assault on Feb 24. As she approached the Kolar police station, she was asked by the in-charge Bundela to wait until the next day. The officer also promised that he will visit her home to register her complaint.

The mother waited throughout the day, but police did not visit her. She sought help from a relative on Feb 26, who encountered the school director AP Singh. After a reported spat between the two, the director called up police.

“Following the intervention of senior officers, the FIR was registered, but police gave bizarre explanations even while registering the complaint,” girl’s mother said.

On February 24, when the girl reached the JP hospital, writhing in pain, the doctors on duty asked the mother to produce a copy of the FIR. The girl complained of burning sensation in her private parts all this while.

“For three days, my daughter was left to endure pain as the police officer tried his best to shield the accused. I had no choice but to take rounds of the police station,” the distraught mother told media persons.

Raising further questions on the functioning of the police department is the fact that FIR mentioned the incident to have occurred between February 13 and February 23, while the case was registered on February 27.

However, on Tuesday, when the pictures of the Thana in-charge and the accused surfaced on social media, the DGP took notice and intervened personally, handing over the probe to ASP Crime Branch Rashmi Mishra.

Mishra, accompanied by police personnel, met the victim and her family, and later seized the CCTV footage of the school and FIR from the Kolar police station.

“Late evening, the accused AP Singh was arrested by the Crime Branch after the statement of the girl was recorded,” SP (South) Siddharth Bahuguna said.

IG Police Bhopal Yogesh Chaudhary refuted charges that police were trying to shield the accused. He added that the probe was on.

First Published: March 1, 2017, 5:57 PM IST