2 boys sexually assaulted by classmates in Delhi govt school

New Delhi: Two boys of a government school in northwest Delhi's Shahbad Dairy area were allegedly sexually assaulted by their classmates, police said on Monday.

The Delhi government has set up a committee to probe the matter.

Police said the alleged incident took place in April during a summer camp organised by the school.

The two boys, aged 12 and 13 years, filed separate complaints with the police alleging that they were sexually assaulted by five to six classmates, police said, adding two cases have been registered in this connection.

All the accused are minors and they were produced before a child welfare committee, police said, adding further investigation is underway.

Taking cognisance of the incident, Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal issued notices to the police and the school management demanding action in the matter.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP leaders demanded the resignation of Education Minister Atishi, claiming that the condition of government schools in the national capital under AAP rule has “deteriorated”.

The 13-year-old victim, a student of Class 8, alleged during the summer camp in April, his classmates forcefully took him to a park and sexually assaulted him. They also threatened him not to disclose it to anyone, officials said.

He was scared and did not tell this to anyone. A few days ago when the boys started troubling him, he told his teachers about the incident who asked him not to tell anyone about this, they said.

The victim informed his parents who later made a PCR call and a case was registered on Sunday, they said.

The Delhi government, in a statement, said it is tragic that such a despicable incident allegedly happened in the summer camp organised by the school.

"An enquiry committee has been set up and a thorough probe is underway on the subject. Let the due course of law take place. If any teachers or staff were aware of this issue and did not bring it to the notice of higher authorities, then stringent action will be taken against them,” the statement said.

"We can assure you all that the Delhi government will take swift and stringent action on the matter. We want to set the standard of education in the country which includes character development among students. Such culpable deeds would not be tolerated and would be dealt with due severity," it said.

According to the DCW, they received information about sexual assault with two minor boys in a government school in Delhi.

The Commission said a 13-year-old student of a government school in Rohini was allegedly sexually assaulted by other students of the school. He has informed that in April, he attended school during summer camp wherein some students forcibly took him to a nearby park and sexually assaulted him for seven days.

He has alleged that the accused students also threatened him not to disclose the incident to anyone. He has stated that a couple of days ago, he narrated his ordeal to two of his teachers, but they asked him not to report the matter, the DCW said.

The 12-year-old boy has also alleged that the same students sexually assaulted him as well, it said.

He said during the summer camp he was sexually assaulted in the school toilet. The accused students had also threatened him not to disclose the incident to anyone, the DCW said.

He has further alleged that around 16 days back, a student again tried to sexually assault him in the toilet. He further claimed that he had narrated the incident to two of his teachers in July and August, but they asked him to not talk about the incident to anyone, the Commission said.

The DCW has been informed that the parents of the boy learnt about the incident around six days ago. When the mother of the child went to the school, the principal allegedly asked them to not talk about the incident to anyone, it stated.

Maliwal, in a post in Hindi on X, said, “In a government school in Shahbad Dairy area, two 12 and 13-year-old boys were sexually assaulted by other boys from the same school. This is a very disgusting and scary matter. How is such a criminal mindset being created in children? FIR has been registered in the matter, notice is being issued to the police and the school for further action. Our team is with the victims and their families."

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that the Delhi government constantly claims to be providing the best educational infrastructure and atmosphere in schools for the students, “but the truth is that under the Aam Aadmi Party government, the conditions in government schools have deteriorated”.

The victims had to lodge complaints with the police when the teachers tried to keep a lid on the "horrid" crime, he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, "I, along with the party president, demand the resignation of Education Minister Atishi for the confusion and propaganda regarding education while the ground reality is that education standards of Delhi government schools are fast deteriorating leading to crime situations."

Sachdeva said, "Since FIR has been lodged the senior students of the school who indulged in sexual exploitation of the two minor students will be arrested but the matter should not end there. The negligence by the teachers and the role of the School Management Committee too needs to be investigated." 

Delhiites want to know from the Kejriwal government why didn't the School Management Committee of this school, the local MLA nominee in it or the counsellors or school mentors intervened and why couldn't the CCTV of the school catch the "multiple instances" of "sexual exploitation" of minors at school premises, he said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP workers including party general secretary Kamaljeet Sehrawat staged a protest outside Dwarka AAP MLA Vinay Mishra's office over the recent incident of nearly 70 children of a government school getting unwell allegedly after eating a mid-day meal.