Delhi Police seeks bail cancellation of teacher in Janakpuri rape case

The Delhi Police on Friday urged the Delhi High Court to cancel the bail granted to a female teacher in a case concerning the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl by a staffer inside a private school in west Delhi’s Janakpuri area. Justice Saurabh Banerjee issued notice to the teacher on the police’s plea challenging the trial court order, which granted bail to her on May 20 in the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The judge also granted time to the main accused, Lalit Kumar, to respond to the police’s plea against the trial court order granting him bail and listed both cases for hearing on June 17 before a vacation bench.

The teacher was arrested for allegedly concealing the incident from the authorities and was remanded to one day’s police custody by the trial court on May 14. The incident came to light on May 1 when the victim’s mother filed a complaint at the Janakpuri police station, alleging that her daughter was sexually assaulted during school hours by the main accused, Kumar.

According to the complaint, the child had gone to the school on April 30, the second day after her admission. After returning home, she complained of pain. When questioned by her mother, the girl said that she was taken to an isolated area in the school, where the man allegedly assaulted her.

Based on the complaint by the child’s mother, police registered a case under Section 64(1) (punishment for rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. Section 6 mandates a minimum of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, which can be extended to life imprisonment, or the death penalty for the offence.

Police said the child identified the accused, following which the 57-year-old school caretaker was arrested on May 1. He was later produced before a court and sent to judicial custody. However, he was granted bail by a court in Dwarka on May 7 despite strong opposition from the prosecution. Earlier, the police filed a plea against the trial court order granting bail to the main accused, the caretaker. They argued that it was a “gross case” and the trial court granted him relief within a few days of his arrest, despite the survivor identifying him as the perpetrator.