According to police, the incident occurred on the premises of Adi Mahakali Pathshala, a government girls’ school on Kailash Bose Street under the Amherst Street police station.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the incident took place during school hours when the girl, a Class II student, had gone to the toilet. It was at that time Sahadev Paswan molested her.

Sahadev, who is in his late teens, was later arrested. He has been charged under Section 509 of the IPC, which covers any “word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman”, said Dulal Ghosh, officer-in-charge (OC) of Amherst Street Police Station.

Three others have been detained for questioning, the OC added.

Following the incident, angry parents gathered outside the school in the morning. According to eyewitnesses, a tussle got sparked off on whether to allow media coverage of the issue.

The mob tried to prevent the media from entering the school, which led to an altercation in which a woman reporter reportedly slapped a parent. No serious injuries were reported, police said.

Ghosh said that the girl has been taken to NRS Hospital for medical tests.