Mangaluru, Mar 13: A riot-like situation prevailed in Thokkottu and Ullal localities of Mangaluru taluk after a few local residents ran amok and pelted stones to exhibit their anger after a middle aged miscreant allegedly raped a three-and-half-year-old girl.
The girl, a student of Mangalore One School, located near Thokkottu, was allegedly raped inside a school van by the driver on Friday, putting the spotlight back on rising incidents of sexual abuse of school-going minors across the country.
Police said that the accused, identified as Madhukar Shetty (38), the driver of the school van, was arrested soon after a complaint was registered against him at jurisdictional Ullal Police Station.
“Police have arrested the accused and further investigation is on,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vishnuvardhan told Coastaldigest.com.
The incident came to light after the girl returned home. When the girl went to the toilet, her mother noticed that she was bleeding. After the girl narrated the incident to her parents, they lodged a complaint with Ullal police station.
A relative of the girl said on condition of the anonymity that the accused had dropped all other school children before forcing himself on the minor.
The news of alleged sexual assault on a school child belonging to minority community by the driver employed by the same school spread in the region like wildfire within a couple of hours.
Enraged residents took to the streets and resorted to flash protest. A few miscreants among the separate group of protesters pelted stones at vehicles at Ullal and Thokkottu, in an apparent bid to disturb the peace in the society.
When the girl was taken to a private hospital in Thokkottu for medical examination, dozens of people gathered outside the hospital and raised slogans demanding harsh punishment for the alleged rapist. The police had to resort to mild baton charge to disperse the mob in front of the hospital.
Within a few minutes another protest erupted on National Highway Thokkottu and a few miscreants threw stones at a private passenger bus. A vehicle belonging to Ullal Police Station also was stoned by the protesters.
A few protesters were taken into custody by the police. Shops were closed in Thokkottu and Ullal junction in the evening after the anti-rape protest took a violent turn.
The doctors at the private hospital in Thokkottu, meanwhile, suggested shifting the girl to Mangaluru. When she was brought to a government hospital for medical examination, another group of people staged in front of the hospital. The police managed to disperse the crowd with the help of few local leaders.
At the same time, a group of people also staged protest in front of Ullal Police Station demanding harsh punishment for the rape accused and release of the protesters. Once again police resorted to mild baton charge to disperse the mob.
It is learnt that the accused Madhukar was assaulted by two local residents before he was taken into custody by the police at the school premises. Mangaluru city police chief S Murugan and his deputy Vishnuwardhan visited Ullal and Thokkottu after the protests.
On the other had the management of Mangaluru One school, run by a former police officer, has rubbished the rape allegation against the driver of the school van. Sources in the school told Ullal police that the girl had suffered injuries as furniture in the classroom accidentally hit her private part when she was getting ready to go home after finishing classes.
Also Read: Medical report confirms rape of nursery student; school remains closed
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