In a disturbing case of abuse, police in Bengaluru's Bannerghatta area have detained six students from an international school and arrested their hostel warden after a 15-year-old boy was allegedly ragged and sexually assaulted inside the school's hostel.
According to investigators, the ordeal stretched over four harrowing days, leaving the teenager traumatised. Police reports revealed that on September 3, the senior students allegedly stripped the boy and forced him to dance naked, according to The Indian Express.
When he resisted, they beat him up with steel hangers. The torment continued the next night despite his repeated pleas for mercy. By September 5 and 6, the accused had escalated the abuse, subjecting the victim to the pain of being drenched in alternating pours of hot and cold water, the IE report stated.
Authorities say the boy initially confided in the hostel warden, but instead of stepping in, the warden dismissed the complaint as a minor matter. Only later did he relay the issue to the boy's parents, who rushed to the police station and lodged a formal complaint.
Officials confirmed that the warden has now been arrested for negligence and failure to protect the child despite prior knowledge of the abuse.
Cases have been filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Juvenile Justice Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, encompassing charges of sexual assault, criminal intimidation, and child abuse. The school principal has also been questioned in connection with the investigation.
This shocking incident has once again drawn attention to the vulnerability of hostel students and the role of school authorities in ensuring their safety. It comes just weeks after a 22-year-old architecture student in Bengaluru's Reva University reportedly died by suicide in July following severe online bullying by classmates.