Female teacher arrested in Janakpuri school assault case
A fresh arrest in the alleged sexual assault of a three-year-old girl inside a private school in West Delhi’s Janakpuri has intensified the investigation, with Delhi Police arresting a female teacher in connection with the case and securing her one-day police custody remand.
Police said they had sought a two-day custody remand of the teacher for further investigation. However, after hearing the arguments, the court granted a one-day remand in police custody. Officials said the teacher was arrested based on evidence gathered during the probe and that a “thorough investigation” was underway. Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Darade Sharad Bhaskar, told The Pioneer that the police were in the process of filing an appeal in the High Court against the bail granted to the accused caretaker.
Taking to their official X handle, the Delhi police shared updates in this case. They wrote, “In the incident of sexual assault with a minor in the Janakpuri police station area, an FIR under Section 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act was registered on May 1 immediately on the complaint of the victim’s mother after the child was medically examined.”
The police also dismissed certain media reports alleging harassment or intimidation of the complainant and the child during the course of the investigation and called such allegations “false and baseless.” According to the police’s statement, the child and her mother were provided with a “comfortable, child-friendly environment” during the inquiry proceedings. They were approached only for lawful inquiry and counselling.
The statement also noted that police arrested the accused caretaker immediately after the child identified him on the same day the complaint was lodged. Statements from the child and her mother were recorded before a judicial magistrate, while CCTV footage, DVR recordings and other exhibits were seized as part of the investigation.
A court in Dwarka had granted bail to the 57-year-old man on May 7 after observing that the child’s medical examination did not reveal any signs of injury or redness. The court had also taken note of CCTV footage, which allegedly showed the caretaker leaving the junior wing of the school in the morning and not returning during the period when the assault was alleged to have taken place.
The Delhi Police’s statement also noted that the Joint Commissioner of Police of the range had been directed to meet the victim’s parents and submit a report within 24 hours. The alleged incident took place on April 30, the toddler’s second day at the school.
