Bangalore's police Commissioner, Raghavendra H Auradkar, on Saturday was probably facing the most daunting task of his career. He was appealing to an angry crowd of 7,000 protesters, who were out on the streets of Bangalore. The protesters were demanding stringent action against those involved in the sexual assault of a six-year-old girl, studying at Vibgyor High in Marathahalli. The protesters were shouting slogans against the police for not arresting the offenders involved in the crime.
The Commissioner had to leave the venue as the protestors were not willing to take any explanation or assurance from him. They were expecting a concrete answer from the Commissioner on what action will the police take. The crowd began shouting: 'Shame, shame' as the city's top cop walked towards his official vehicle, flanked by his subordinates. The protesters tried to mob the commissioner, but the policemen managed to foil it.
The protesters had gathered at the Kundalahalli Gate near the school earlier in the day, and had begun their rally from there. They marched to the ground behind the HAL police station holding various placards saying 'Stop the shame now', 'Save girls', 'We demand justice', 'Hang rapists', 'Change the law', etc. Most of them were dressed in black as a mark of protest.
At the ground, additional commissioner of police (law & order) Kamal Pant and other senior officers were ready to receive the memorandum of the protesters seeking early arrest of the culprits in the case, arrest of the school's founder-chairman Rustom Kerawalla, action against the school management for trying to hush up the incident, and other demands.
However, the agitators demanded that the police commissioner should meet them instead, to get a clear course of action in the case. The top cop was informed about it and he reached the protest venue by 12.30pm. He was welcomed with slogans against the police and the system. The Commissioner said that the police are investigating the case thoroughly, and will arrest the culprits soon. But the protesters began to question him on the delay in tracking the accused, for which Auradkar said that the police are investigating.
Raju, a parent, expressed his anger on the functioning of the police force. "The Commissioner could not even give a convincing answer. How many days will the police require to arrest the culprits?," he questioned.
Anuradha, one of the parents who had gathered for the protest, broke down. "The incident has shook my confidence in educational institutions and has disturbed me a lot. My daughter is also a student of Vibgyor High and on what guarantee can I send her to the same school again? School is a place where our children learn values, and that itself has become an unsafe place," she said.
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