Panaji: Goa police on Friday registered an FIR against the headmistress of a primary school and a class teacher for allegedly failing to report the alleged sexual assault of a minor boy on school premises, a day after a TOI report. The child in conflict with the law (CCL) has been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).A senior police officer said notices have been served on both the headmistress and the class teacher, directing them to appear at the police station to join the investigation.According to the police, the CCL allegedly took the minor boy into the school washroom and sexually assaulted him. “The said incident was brought to the notice of the headmistress and the class teacher. However, both the accused failed to report the incident to the competent authority,” police stated in the FIR.Police have registered the FIR under various sections of the Pocso Act and Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act.TOI reported that an eight-year-old male student was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 13-year-old senior in a toilet at a govt-aided school in the Tiswadi taluka. The case raised alarm amid allegations that the school administration tried to hush up the matter and pursue a “mutual settlement” instead of reporting it to the police immediately.This comes after the rapes of two children by migrant workers on Sunday and Tuesday.The Tiswadi abuse occurred on Oct 30 but came to light after state govt’s victim assistance unit (VAU) wrote to the police on Tuesday, seeking an FIR for the alleged assault and cover-up attempt by the school authorities.According to the complaint, the eight-year-old was allegedly intercepted by the 13-year-old student in the toilet and sexually assaulted in a cubicle. The victim informed his teacher immediately.Following his mother’s complaint, the school authorities convened a meeting. VAU in-charge Emidio Pinho said the authorities allegedly attempted to deal with the matter through informal discussions and a proposed settlement. The mother rejected any such compromise.Purported minutes of the meeting mention that the older student would have to undergo psychological evaluation, that a guard be stationed outside the toilet to monitor students, and that an undertaking was taken from the 13-year-old describing the act he had allegedly committed.
