Outrage as 6-year-old girl raped at school
Citizens of Bangalore, India protested Saturday after complaints of police inaction in the case of a six-year-old girl's rape.
Police say the child was raped at Vibgyor High School staff members on July 2, but the assault was just reported this week. No arrests have been made in the case.
According to police reports, the girl did not report the attack to her parents or teachers. It was only until she complained of stomach pains this week that her parents took her to the hospital and discovered that she had been sexually assaulted.
Police initially reported that two suspects were being considered, but later arrested eight individuals. The parents and relatives of the school's students marched through Bangalore on Saturday in protest of the incomplete investigation. The over 4,000 protestors tore down the school's gates, and shouted at the school's staff. They also descended upon the city's police station, refusing to leave until Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Auradkar assured them that the police were taking action.
Auradkar insisted that police were working incessantly to confirm the perpetrators, and urged the family members to have faith in the police.
"The incident involves a minor girl. We have to deal with the case carefully and respond sensitively keeping the girl in mind," he told the angry mob, according to Zee News.
"We are hugely pained by the incident...Have trust in the police."
Accusations of police inaction in sex crimes are a common complaint in India.
According to the Asian Centre for Human Rights, between 2001 and 2011 there was an average of over 4,800 child rape cases in India per year. Girls in low-caste communities are often targeted, and the cases overlooked.
State Home Minister KJ George said on Friday that he hopes to change that.
"We will soon set up fast-track courts cross the state to try all rape cases expeditiously to convict and punish the guilty," he announced. "We will also increase the number of women police force and provide additional vehicles to step up patrolling during beats".
