Siliguri: A conservancy staff of an English medium school located in Pradhan Nagar was arrested on allegations of sexually assaulting a student, studying in Class 3, in the school toilet.
The incident sparked outrage as guardians of other students staged a protest alleging negligence by the school authorities. The accused, identified as Pappu Basfor, has been working in the school for a long time.
According to sources, the alleged incident occurred on Monday when the student went to the toilet during school hours. It is claimed that the accused found her alone and sexually assaulted her. After returning home, the student narrated the incident to her parents, who later informed the school authorities. The headmaster of the school called her parents and obtained all the information in detail.
On Tuesday, when the accused arrived for work, school authorities handed him over to the Pradhan Nagar police. Both the victim’s parents and the school administration have filed a written complaint against Basfor.
However, the guardians of other students staged protests on Tuesday morning, asking why the school authorities, despite knowing about the incident on Monday, didn’t inform the police on that very day. “Why was the headmaster waiting till Tuesday?”
They alleged a possible attempt by the school authorities to hush up the incident. Parents also raised questions about the school’s safety measures, including why a male conservancy staff member was permitted access to the girls’ toilet. Why are female staff not employed for such roles? The guardians also submitted a complaint to the Pradhan Nagar police against the school headmaster.
Headmaster Ranbir Purakayastha said: “I had contacted the family of the accused on Monday itself. I thought he might flee, therefore I was waiting for Tuesday to hand him over to the police.”
Ward councillor Gargi Chatterjee also rushed to the spot after getting the news. “The headmaster should have informed the police earlier. He also informed me that from now onwards female staff will be assigned to the girls’ toilets, which he should have done earlier,” she added.