Andheri school director may undergo medical test

Mumbai: The MIDC police - which is probing the case of the 57-year-old founder-director of an Andheri-based IB school accused of raping a girl and a boy, both three years’ old – is likely to conduct a medical test on him. Sources however said that the move may not be very effective now as the alleged acts were committed last year.

On both occasions the police has questioned the accused, he has refuted all charges. A source said that the probe was allegedly being conducted at a slow pace in view of the fact that the case had garnered a lot of publicity. However, legal experts said that medical tests conducted after eight months in an alleged rape case may not be fruitful and that police was just following protocol.

Advocate Samir Vaidya told The Asian Age, “The medical evidence sought by medical tests should be collected within 24 hours of commission of the act but if the tests are conducted after a period of eight to ten months, they have absolutely no relevance. The tests are being conducted only as a matter of protocol. This is pure negligence on the parents’ part and they should have been more vigilant while taking care of their children.”

Sources said the police that filed the complaint against the director in May had been very lenient and laid-back while investigation. The director, who was in Europe when the complaint was registered, was to return to India in the last week of May but chose to stay abroad for the next 45 days without a valid reason. The police was to arrest him as soon as he landed here, which was also reported by The Asian Age, but when the accused person returned on July 13, the police kept mum and simply asked him for questioning.

While questioning, the accused was asked about the allegations against him but he refuted all of them and said he needed some time to prove his innocence. The police has questioned the accused twice and each time, the latter has presented his side of the story. The police is now verifying it.

Deputy commissioner of police zone 10, Navinchandra Reddy, said, “The probe is still on and we cannot divulge details. Late arrival of the accused has put a lot of speed-breakers in the case, but we are trying to join the dots.” Police will conduct tests on the accused by weekend to ascertain the charges of alleged rape.