Nagpur: A 58-year-old school van driver was arrested and charged under stringent sections of POCSO Act for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old Class 7 student near a grocery store in Khaparkheda, raising fresh concerns about students travelling in cramped school vans. She was on her way home from tuition class when the accused made the undue advances.“There were other girl students in the van, but no woman attendant was accompanying them. The vehicle was used for ferrying students for tuition classes,” said a police source.Police commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil had held joint meetings, workshops and conventions with school managements, cautioning them against recruiting employees or vendors with questionable backgrounds or crime antecedents. The alleged sexual assault took place on Sept 9 around 7.30pm when the survivor was returning home after tuition.The accused, Kishore Kumbhare, would take the survivor in his van and drop her back home. On the day of the incident, the girl wanted to buy glue. The driver went with her to a store and after the buy, when they were returning to the van, he misbehaved with her, said police. After two days, the girl told her mother about the ordeal, and a police complaint was registered on Sept 13 under POCSO Act.The police brass had earlier stated that a background check of school van vendors was mandatory and a woman attendant should accompany girl students. “The investigation has begun. Statements of the girl, her mother and other students who were in the van are being recorded. The matter is being treated seriously because the accused was entrusted with the minor’s safety during travel,” said a police officer at Khaparkheda.
