ELVINO ARAUJO
bureau@herald-goa.com
VASCO: In a startling revelation, the father of the seven-year-old schoolgirl sexually assaulted in a Vasco school has disclosed that the accused had met his daughter on four previous occasions in the school campus, before committing the heinous crime.
The accused was even accompanied by a friend during his fourth interaction with the girl.
This disclosure, which further exposes lapses in the school’s security, came to light when the girl, who is still traumatised over the incident, began opening up to her dad and revealed further details preceding the shocking incident.
Speaking to Herald, the father said he had managed to get this information after taking his daughter into confidence.
“Initially, she was unable to recollect how she had met the accused. I then began asking her general questions, such as what subjects were taught to her and what she had done in the school during those days before January 14,” said the father.
“My daughter then told me that the accused had first met her on the school ground on January 7 and had offered her a chocolate. On January 8, he met my girl near the volleyball court shortly after school and had offered her another chocolate,” said the father.
“On January 9, the accused met my daughter for the third time and offered her another chocolate near the volleyball court, again after the school hours,” he added.
The father then mentioned that the accused was accompanied by a friend when he had gone to meet the girl for the fourth time on January 10 in the school campus.
“The friend had carried a guitar on his back and my daughter said both were conversing in Hindi,” the father said.
The accused did not meet the girl for the next two days, but by then he had already become a familiar face to the unsuspecting child.
“On January 14, the accused met my daughter in the school toilet and had requested her to perform oral sex on him. When she refused, the man then sexually assaulted her,” said the distraught father.
“My girl ran out of the toilet with tears in her eyes and proceeded to her classroom, where she reported the matter to her teacher. She, however, did not notice how or when the accused had fled from the site,” he said.
This latest information was conveyed to Crime Branch sleuths, who are investigating the case. A Crime Branch official visited the residence of the family on Friday and recorded this latest piece of evidence.
While the security agency has been denying any lapses in surveillance at the school gates, this latest revelation suggests that the accused had gained easy access to the school on at least four occasions, enabling him to freely acquaint himself with the school building and its premises.
What is also surprising is that the accused was allowed to enter and exit the school, virtually unnoticed by security, staff and ayahs on duty, on five different occasions and on five different days.
These lapses by school authorities on four occasions could have given the accused sufficient confidence to commit the shocking crime during his fifth interaction with the victim in the school premises.
