Mumbai: The 16-year-old canteen boy , accused of sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl at a Vasai school, used to loiter around near the tap where students wash their hands during recess. The girl had confided in her family about the abuse by the ‘canteen uncle', prompting them to approach the school authorities . The school initiated an investigation before involving police.
The abuse came to light on Aug 22 when the Class 2 student refused to go to the canteen despite her teacher's insistence. Upon questioning, the girl revealed that the canteen boy had been touching her inappropriately for several days. The school authorities reviewed the CCTV camera footage and noticed the accused, responsible for serving food and cleaning, loitering near the water tap just before the end of lunch break.
The girl described the touch on her back as a ‘bad touch' to her family and teacher. Police were informed the same day, who detained the accused. Originally from UP, the teen moved to the city recently.
He landed a job with the private contractor running the canteen two months ago. While schools mostly employ female staffers as caretakers, canteens in educational premises have male staffers. The state has advised schools to have female staff for pre-school kids aged below 6.
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