India police arrest two gym instructors over alleged rape of child
By AFP
Published: July 29, 2014
People came out in large numbers to protest against the rape of a six-year-old child at the elite Vibgyor High School in Bangalore. (Source: PTI)
BANGALORE: India police have arrested two gym instructors over the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl at a top school, a crime that has sparked protests by outraged parents, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
Police in the southern city of Bangalore seized the pair on Monday after acting on information from a roller-skating instructor who was arrested last week over the crime, which has provoked fierce debate over children’s safety in India.
“We have arrested the two culprits working as gymnastics coaches in the Vibgyor High School,” Bangalore police commissioner MN Reddi told reporters.
“During preliminary investigation and interrogation… (the pair) admitted to have committed the heinous crime in the school premises, which has turned out to be a case of gang rape,” he said.
“The child had identified the main culprits and the CCTV footage shows them forcing her to stay back after all other students left the gym classroom.”
Reddi also conceded that the roller-skating instructor, who was paraded before the media last week, was not directly involved in the alleged attack. He was still being detained after he was discovered with a laptop containing child pornography.
Hundreds of parents and political activists have led protests over the July 2 attack with some who attempted to storm the school beaten back by police officers.
The child was allegedly assaulted in a classroom of the school, a top fee-paying institution favoured by local politicians and businessmen.
India is especially sensitive to cases of sexual violence after the 2012 fatal gang-rape of a student on a moving bus in New Delhi which led to a public outcry and new tougher laws to deter rapists.
