A senior investigator said the accused, 55-year-old K Reddayya, took the girl to an adjacent vacant room and assaulted her.
Published Feb 02, 2024 | 12:42 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 02, 2024 | 12:42 PM
Representational Image. (Creative Commons)
A 55-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl at an Anganwadi in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district, the police said.
The accused, K Reddayya, was temporarily in charge of the Anganwadi, when the teacher, who was reportedly running a fever, visited a nearby hospital.
Five children, including the survivor, were in the Anganwadi when the man took the girl to an adjacent room and assaulted her. Two villagers, who heard her screams, barged in, rescued the child, and handed the girl over to her parents, even as Reddayya fled the scene.
The police later arrested him.
“K Subbalakshmi, the teacher of Cheemala Cheruvu Palli Anganwadi mini-centre, runs the centre in her house. There are two adjoining rooms. While one room is vacant, the other is used for teaching,” DSP Mahaboob Basha of Rayachoti in the Annamayya district told South First.
The officer said Reddayya is the elder brother-in-law of Subbalakshmi and had been staying in the house for over 15 years since his separation from his wife.
“Subbalakshmi was suffering from fever, and went to a hospital in Rayachoti with her husband, leaving her brother-in-law in charge of the students around 12:45 pm on 29 January,” the officer said.
The DSP further said the accused noticed the four-year-old girl child going to the washroom twice. She had been attending the school for the past one-and-a-half years.
“After some time, he took her to the adjoining room and raped her. He panicked when the child screamed in pain and fled. However, two villagers, who heard the girl’s screams rescued her and handed her over to her parents,” he added.
The girl’s parents lodged a police complaint the same day. The police arrested him the next day, 30 January, from his hideout. He was presented before a court and remanded in custody.
Besides relevant sections of the POCSO act, the accused was charged under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the IPC. The girl was shifted to a hospital. The teacher’s negligence has been reported to the Integrated Child Development Services Department, the police said, adding that no case was registered against her so far.
