Updated on: 14th September 2023 4:35 PM IST | Mumbai
S S Nadar | news@debotimes.in

Cops said he accosted the child in the washroom and assaulted her multiple times and gave her R10 to not tell anyone

The accused was hired by the school a year ago.

A school cook in Vasai East was held on Wednesday for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old. Police said that on Tuesday, the accused lured the girl with special food in the kitchen when she was going to the washroom during lectures. After sexually assaulting the child, the 57-year-old accused gave her R10 and threatened her not to tell anyone about the incident.

The girl is a 4th standard student and lives with her parents. When residents of the area got wind of the incident, they assaulted the cook inside the school on Wednesday before police arrived to arrest him.

The student said that the accused had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.

A police officer said, “The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon between 12 pm and 5 pm, during school hours. The accused followed the girl when she went to the washroom. He lured her to the kitchen by promising her special food. He sexually assaulted the girl on multiple occasions and gave her a R10 note to buy
her silence.”

“After school ended, the girl returned home and complained to her mother about pain in her private parts. Her mother found the R10 note in her pocket and asked her about it. That’s when the girl revealed what had happened. She said an uncle who worked in the school kitchen gave her the money and threatened her to not disclose the incident,” said the police officer.

The mother rushed to the Waliv police station to file a First Information Report (FIR) and also notified the school management about the incident. During counselling, the girl said that the man sexually assaulted her multiple times in the past too.

Senior Inspector Jayraj Ranaware of Waliv police said, “During interrogation, the accused claimed to have worked at the school for the past four years, but school authorities and records indicate that he has been employed there only for a year. We are checking if he has a past criminal record.”