Delhi police charges school for hiding minor's sexual assault by father

New Delhi: Delhi Police has lodged a cheating and forgery case against four teachers and the principal of a government school for not informing them about an alleged confession letter of a minor girl's father that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

The police are already probing the aspect of sexual assault on her by a teacher and have informed a city court it has also registered an FIR against the girl's father in view of the alleged confession letter which was given to the police by the school staff.

The development came in pursuance to the court's earlier order in which Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vinod Yadav had pulled up the police for its lapses in probing the sexual assault case of the 13-year-old girl allegedly by her teacher inside the class room.

The prosecution version created "doubts" on the genuineness of the probe, as the police had claimed that the girl was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her father, while the victim took a firm stand that the perpetrator was her class teacher, the court had said.

It pulled up the police for not probing the matter from the angle whether the letter, alleged to be written by the girl's father, was fraudulently prepared to create a defence by the accused teacher in connivance with other teachers.

Senior police officers, who were directed to appear, told ASJ Yadav that they have registered an FIR against the teachers and the principal for alleged offences of cheating, forgery, using forged document as genuine and criminal conspiracy under the IPC and under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

They said further investigation was likely to conclude in four weeks, following which the court listed the matter in March for filing of report or charge sheet by the police.

The court had observed that the letter was allegedly prepared by the accused teacher in the presence of her colleagues and later brought to the notice of the principal.

The incident occurred in August last year when the girl, a Class V student of a government school in Aman Vihar area of North-West Delhi, asked a question to the teacher who asked her to meet him alone later.

The girl said in her complaint that the teacher allegedly molested her and when her parents came to the school next day to complain about his conduct, he threatened them and took the thumb impression of the child's father on a blank paper.

Later, the teacher allegedly wrote a confession letter on behalf of the girl's father that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted his daughter and got signatures of other colleagues, she had alleged.

Later, a case under the POCSO Act was registered by the police against the accused teacher.