Bengaluru: Rapists on the loose, city erupts in anger

Bengaluru: Amid speculation on Friday night that there was a breakthrough in bringing in the perpetrators in the VIBGYOR rape case, T.D. Pawar, DCP, South-East categorically stated that this is untrue. "We understand that the city is burning over the issue and if there is such a major development, we will be the first to let you know."

The Karnataka Commission For Protection of Child Rights who also sent a notice to VIBGYOR on Thursday, demanding that that the school accept full responsibility for the rape of the six-year-old child, say the management has gone missing. When their team, led by Dr Anuradha, arrived on the premises, they found nobody present except for a lower cadre officer, who is not authorised to take cognizance of the notice.

"There was nobody else in the school and the official we met refused to reveal the whereabouts of the senior management," said Umesh Aradhya, Commissioner, KCPCR. The school, which has been trying to say that the rape didn't take place within the premises, is now trying to evade the authorities. "We have the mobile numbers of the senior management, but their phones have been switched off all day, " said Mr Aradhya. The Commission has had to resort to sending the notice via email and speed post to those authorised to receive it.

Meanwhile, the six-year-old rape survivor who was kept locked in a room for some hours as a punishment for bad behaviour isn't the only one student to have been ill-treated by school authorities. Other parents from VIBGYOR, on condition of anonymity, have approached the Commission, claiming that their children have been harassed and handed out similar punishments. "The families don't want to be identified, because it will affect the future of the child," said an official from the KCPCR. "However, we are holding a meeting with them tomorrow to get full details of the complaints."

Varthur police have found themselves under immense pressure to crack the case on Thursday as anxious parents demanded to know what progress had been made. “The police, who were initially confident about arresting the accused are now dragging their feet", said a software engineer whose daughter is a student of the school. "Cops are trying to shield the school Management and not booking them for their negligence, despite the child rights commission and other agencies concerned having taken cognizance of the incident, he said.

The Varthur police have so far detained few staff of the school including a driver, security guard and gym instructor on suspicion. DCP (south east) T.D. Pawar said the police are investigating to trace the accused. “We are verifying some clues which would help us to track down the accused," he said.

Asked whether the police would take action against the school for its negligence, Mr. Pawar said that their focus right now is on tracking down the accused. “We have not booked case against the school since there was no complaint", he said.

Commissioner of Police Auradkar told DC that the investigation is still underway and that it is too early to pinpoint the culprits. "Gathering evidence is our job," he said, reacting to media reports about who the culprits could be.