TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
PONDA: In yet another crime against children, Ponda police on Wednesday booked a case against a school peon on charges of molesting a Std 9 schoolgirl in December 2012.
According to Ponda Police, the victim girl’s mother complained that the accused had fondled her daughter during the school annual gathering on December 20, 2012.
“However, the victim reported the matter to her parents only on January 1 and the school headmaster called the parents for a meeting on January 5. The headmaster then advised the parents that they were free to file a police complaint against the peon,” said Ponda PI C L Patil.
“The complaint has been registered under Section 354 IPC and we are on the lookout of the accused as he is reported to be on leave,” added PI Patil.
It is alleged that the victim and her family were initially pressurized by school teachers not to lodge the complaint.
However, PI Patil said the complaint had only made mention about the incident.
“The family did not state if they were pressurized not to file a police complaint. In general, there is a fear among teachers and the school management that police will tarnish the image of the school if such incidents are reported to the police. But we take due care not to disclose name of the school,” said PI Patil.
It is still not clear why the school headmaster did not report the matter to the police and PI Patil said that police investigations into the case would probe this aspect as well.
Auda Viegas of Bailancho Ekvott along with a group of citizens were also present at the police station when the complaint was filed against the peon.
“This incident should be highly condemned and it is high time that the government or school management verify the antecedents of applicants before them as teaching or non-teaching staff. A character certificate or a police clearance certificate should be made mandatory for the staff employees,” said Viegas.
Blaming the school management and the teachers, Viegas said the matter should have been reported to the authorities.
When asked if a complaint would be lodged against the school management or teachers, Viegas said she would write to the Education Department in this connection.
“Teachers and the management are equally responsible for failing to report the incident to the authorities. Failing to report this matter is as good as abetment to the crime and I will write to the Directorate of Education,” stated Viegas.
