9-year-old girl molested in school bus by Class-11 boy

GHAZIABAD:THE Ghaziabad Police on Saturday took into custody a minor boy who allegedly molested a Class 5 girl from his school inside a moving school bus. The accused boy, a Class 11 student, allegedly committed the crime on Friday afternoon while the bus was on its way to drop students, according to the complaint filed by the girl’s mother.

According to the police, both the students are from a private school in Noida and were the last to be dropped at Ghaziabad’s Vasundhara locality when the incident took place in the school bus.

The police said that a female caretaker was also present in the bus. The boy, believed to be 16, called the girl to the seats in the rear of the bus, police added.

“They were the only last two students to be dropped back home. The boy was sitting on the rear seats of the bus and called the girl to the back. She had been seated somewhere in the middle, away from him. He then made her sit next to her before he molested her. After the drop, the girl narrated the incident to her mother who filed a police complaint,” said SC Dubey, station house officer, Indirapuram.

The police later lodged an FIR under IPC section for molestation and also levied provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2005.

“Upon inquiry, we took the boy into custody and sent him to a juvenile home. Since the incident took place inside a school bus, we are going to question the school authorities and will check whether the security measures were in place and the bus staff were attentive to their duties,” Dubey added.

The mother of the nine-yearold girl expressed outrage with the school authorities for not showing concern over the incident. “On Friday, I got in touch with the school administration by calling on the reception, but I was told that the principal had left for the day. They then asked me to get in touch with the transport manager, instead of the principal. I have received a call from the transport manager, but the principal has not got in touch with me yet,” she said.

She said her daughter was in a state of shock and did not attend the school on Saturday. “She was very uncomfortable with the incident and did not go to the school on Saturday. I somehow counselled her and now she seems to ready to attend school from Monday,” said the mother. She said she was surprised as the accused boy came across as simple. “The boy looked so simple and I couldn’t believe that such an innocent looking boy can indulge in such dirty acts,” she added.