BANGALORE (TIP): When little Maya, 4, came home on October 21 afternoon, after Diwali celebrations, she was wearing her favourite ethnic outfit, and had tears in her eyes. She was feverish too. After lunch and a short nap, her mother sat her down and gently asked her what had happened. Haltingly,Maya (name changed) told her about a “bad uncle in school” who beat her. She showed marks of attacks on her body, but when she showed marks on her private parts, her parents realized things were serious.

Much more serious. During a meeting between parents and teachers at the school on Thursday, the girl’s class teacher repeatedly said the child was under her observation throughout the day, and denied such a thing could have happened. Maya had gone out of class twice, and was accompanied by a female caretaker both times, and all these things have been recorded on CCTV, she argued. However, at another meeting, when parents asked the school management if the teachers was aware of the girl’s whereabouts when the Diwali celebrations were on, there were no satisfactory answers.

They weren’t even sure if the student was in the classroom or play area at that time. This uncertainty raised suspicions that Maya was sexually assaulted during the celebrations. A police officer who was present during the proceedings, said officers at Jalahalli police station got information about the incident after they got a memo from another police station. After the parents took the girl to hospital, where sexual assault was confirmed, a memo was sent to the nearest police station, and then transferred to the jurisdictional police station. Police said the school has 77 teaching staff, of who 3 are male, besides 37 non-teaching staff.