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Father alleges son was sexually assaulted for days by classmates in Chennai school

According to the father, the child developed physical illnesses and nausea because of the abuse and is currently admitted to a government hospital in Chennai.

A 15-year-old boy in a Chennai school was allegedly subjected to brutal sexual abuse and physical assault by his classmates over a period of time. The survivor is a student of Standard 10. The father of the student, who hails from Puducherry, has alleged that around 12 students were part of the group of students who abused his son. Some of them indulged in sexual assault.

“Apart from the sexual assault, they beat him up until he bled. They also took away his money and food. One of the boys even threatened my son with a knife and kept telling him to take his own life,” alleged the father of the student, while speaking to TNM. He has also alleged that his son was forced to watch porn by the boys, who would then pass vulgar comments about his father and mother. 

His son over time, developed physical illnesses and nausea because of the abuse and is currently admitted to a government hospital in Chennai, said the father of the student. “I don’t know why they targeted him,” he said, adding that it could have been because he was new to the school. “He didn’t want to be like the other boys. He didn’t want to roam around the city after six in the evening and spend money. That could have been a reason,” he said. According to him, most of the abuse happened inside the school toilet, where the survivor was made to strip, kneel on the ground and sexually assaulted.

The survivor was intimidated into silence, became reluctant to attend school and withdrew from his parents at home. “At one point, it was like he was possessed. He also talked about suicide. The boys who abused him had told my son they can’t be touched because their fathers were lawyers, military men and in the police force,” he said.

The student later told his parents about the physical abuse but was silent on the alleged sexual assault. “He told us that he was being beaten. He was too scared to mention the sexual assault,” the father said. “When he took up the matter with school authorities, the boys denied it in front of the teacher and later took out their anger on my son for complaining. They beat him up again for it,” the father alleged.

It was only after this that his son slowly opened up at home about the sexual assault as well. Earlier this week, a second complaint was made to the school principal. After the survivor was hospitalised, the police were notified regarding a patient with evidence of physical abuse being admitted.

The father feels that his family’s modest socio-economic background may have to do with the school’s disinterest in taking action against the perpetrators. He also said he had faced difficulties in paying the school fees on time. .  

The student’s father also alleged that after indifference shown by the school, they also faced resistance from the police who were not keen on registering a complaint initially. “When I went to the police station on November 23 evening the sub-inspector asked me why I brought a lawyer with me. They also tried to talk me into coming to an ‘understanding’ about the matter and to think about the future of the young boys who perpetrated the crime. They said they will take action if there is evidence, but they spoke about a compromise. They also told me to get my son discharged saying he seems fine, but how can I do that until the doctors say so?” he alleged.

When TNM spoke to the T Nagar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Adarsh Pachera, he said, “We have received the complaint and are investigating. A case hasn’t been registered yet. We cannot share anything else at this point.” 

Source: The News Minute