Two-year-old Boy Allegedly Sexually Assaulted in Kolkata Playschool During Doctor’s Day Programme

Kolkata: A two-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted inside the premises of a playschool in Kolkata’s Behala area. The parents of the toddler have filed a police complaint and an FIR has been registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

According to the parents, the boy was subjected to sexual abuse during a ‘Doctor’s Day’ programme in the school on Monday during which teachers, staff and students played different roles. The boy had been attending the playschool since February this year.

The police complaint was registered on Wednesday, two days after the alleged incident. It states that the boy’s private parts were bleeding when he left school for home on Monday.

The child’s mother said that he was crying uncontrollably when she picked him up from school that day. She thought he was unwell but raised an alarm when she noticed he was bleeding from his private parts.

The parents then took the child to a pediatrician, who said that the child had been sexually abused and advised the parents to go to a government hospital for a medical examination.

He was then taken to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where a medical examination was conducted. The report said that it “seemed” a case of sexual assault. “Mild swelling and mild oedema in the perianal region with a twitching sign. It seems a case of child abuse,” the primary medical report said.

The medical report also mentioned that the child should be taken to another state-run hospital, SSKM, to establish or rule out the case of child abuse.

The boy’s father said that he first approached the school authorities on Tuesday, but they did not cooperate. He said that they asked to see the CCTV footage, but the school’s staff claimed that the cameras were not functioning since June 26.

“We were first asked to wait for two hours only to be told later that CCTV cameras were not functioning. The school authorities say the incident did not take place in the school premises. It is shameful on their part,” said the child’s father.

The school principal, on the other hand, claimed no such incident had taken place.

“On July 2, the child concerned was not examined on Doctor’s day. The child appeared normal when his mother picked him up from school at 11:30am. If something has happened that day, why did the parents come back after 24 hours?” the principal asked.

The police are yet to approach the school authorities for further investigation.