Autorickshaw driver raped a Class IX student over the last six months, arrested

Hyderabad: The dangers of sending children to school in transport unsupervised by a parent or responsible adult is highlighted in the case of an autorickshaw driver who repeatedly raped a Class IX student over the last six months, taking her to isolated place while doing his school round. The girl is now pregnant. The Lallaguda police has arrested the man and will be producing him before a court on Friday.

According to the police, Vanga Rajesh, 37, used to halt the autorickshaw at the railway ground and tell the other kids, all of them in lower primary, to play till he returned. He would take the girl to an isolated spot and rape her. He threatened to kill her younger brother and parents if she he did not submit to him.

The driver had been picking up the kids from a school at Marredpally and dropping them home for one-and-a-half years. North Zone DCP Sumathi said, “This is a heinous and shocking crime. We have booked a case against him under IPC section for rape and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.”

It is only when the young girl complained of fatigue and her mother took her to hospital for a check up that it was discovered she was pregnant. She then revealed the frequent rape and other horrifying details of sexual assault.

The girl’s mother suspects Rajesh had started misbehaving with her daughter since July. “In the beginning he used to hold her hands while she was getting in the autorickshaw. He talked to her using vulgar language. Then he started taking her to a dilapidated building at the railway quarters after halting the autorickshaw at the ground, and rape her,” the mother said in her complaint.

The other children being ferried in the autorickshaw, including the girl’s younger brother, were very young and did not realise what was happening. “Sometimes, he used to take her to the building after dropping all the other kids. Other times, he used to divert the kids’ attention while taking the girl,” said a police officer from the South Zone police station.

“The girl said that she was raped 12 to 13 times in the last six months,” he added. Police said Rajesh was married and had two children. “He lives with his family on the border of Lallaguda and Tukaram Gate,” said a police officer from Lallaguda.

Only therapy can save girl

The 13-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped by autorickshaw driver Vanga Rajesh over the last six months will need counselling and care to get over the ordeal.

“The girl must have gone through severe depression and must have internalised all the fears and anxiety. She is very young and this might affect her concentration and studies. Now, after the revelation and police case, she is likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress,” said city psychiatrist V. Naresh. Proper care might require counselling and therapy for at least six months, Mr Naresh added.

The girl has told the police that she was unable to shout for help when he grabbed her hands and walked her away from the other children, including her six-year-old brother, who were busy playing, and she felt too weak and scared to escape from him. “In the beginning it started as luring, flirting, and then it turned into threats. He threatened her when she resisted. He used to tell her that he is a dangerous gang leader and he could kidnap her younger brother and father if he wanted. He told her he would kill her parents and brother if she ever told anybody,” said a police officer involved in the probe.

Sometimes Rajesh would drop the other kids home and compel his victim to stay back in the vehicle. “He would take her to the dilapidated building. Her mother would ask her where she had been and as per his orders, she used to say that she went to her friend's house,” said the officer.

Need for caution

• Senior police officers said parents should be extremely careful while sending kids in private autorickshaws and vans to school. They suggested the following precautions:
• Always check the background of the driver, enquire if he has a criminal background.
• Collect identity details, vehicle registration number and phone number of the driver.
• Talk to your kids every day and ask them if they have faced any hardship during transit.
• Never ignore any complaint of the smallest harassment from the driver.
• If the child hints at any bad behaviour by the driver, seek explanation from him or approach police immediately if the matter is serious.