School owner arrested after girl raped in hostel; cop who told kin not to file complaint too held

Bhopal, May 14 (PTI) Police on Tuesday arrested the owner of a Bhopal-based private school in connection with the rape of an eight-year-old girl student at the educational facility’s hostel, two weeks after a complaint was filed, an official said.

A police sub-inspector, who was suspended earlier for pressuring the girl’s mother to not file a complaint, was also arrested, he said.

The police had booked three unidentified persons after receiving a rape complaint on April 30, but did not say when the crime took place.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shraddha Tiwari said after a verification exercise, the school owner was arrested on Tuesday on charges of rape and the process to identify his two co-accused was underway.

Tiwari said suspended sub-inspector Prakash Singh Rajput was also arrested for putting pressure on the victim’s mother to not register a police complaint.

After the incident, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

After the family of the girl, a Class 2 student who resided in the school’s hostel, filed the complaint on April 30, an FIR was registered against three unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 376 (punishment for rape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.