Delhi touched a new low on Thursday when a nine-year-old student of a municipal school was tied, gagged and raped by two unidentified boys in the school’s restroom in the afternoon.

These boys, outsiders to the school, had scaled the building’s six-foot boundary wall from the rear and were lying in wait in the toilet, police sources have said.

Around 12.30 pm, the student of Class IV, along with two of her friends, took permission from their teacher to visit the toilet. They walked into the boys, who bolted the door from inside and pounced on the girls.

After a while, two of the girls managed to run for help when their friend was being assaulted. One of them said: “As soon as we entered the toilet, these boys yanked us in and warned us not to make noise.” This happened in the MCD Primary School in Ashok Vihar’s Phase III in northeast Delhi.

When teachers rushed to the toilet, they found the victim tied up; with a tape over her mouth. The boys had escaped by then, jumping over the same boundary wall that adjoins the toilet. They made their way out through the nearby park, an officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest district), N S Bundela said, “The girl’s medical examination has confirmed rape. We have a tentative idea about one of the absconding culprits. We hope to make an arrest soon.” The girl is now being treated at the Sunder Lal Jain Hospital.

Angry locals demonstrated before the school and the nearby police station in the afternoon. There were allegations that three earlier assaults by local goons had taken place in the school but the authorities had not moved over the complaints. The girl’s father Shankar Lal — who works in a Narela factory — said the school management had initially tried to hush up the issue, even “offering money and free medical aid” to remain quiet.

The girl’s grandmother Munni Devi told Newsline: “When I went to pick her up, I was told by her friends that she was not well and was unconscious. Something bad had happened to her inside the toilet.” She also said there were three boys, not two.

School authorities would not speak on the incident though Secretary of the Municipal Corporation Teachers’ Association Vibha Singh said: “We are inquiring into it. The management committee of the school has met the district education officer of the Rohini Zone.”

Local MLA Mange Ram Garg has condemned the crime and has promised to find out what the school’s security personnel were doing at the time of the attack.

The victim are four siblings — two brothers and two sisters — and lives with her family in the Jhuggi Basti in Sawan Pur area.

Civic body asks police for more security in schools
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is “deeply anguished” at the rape of a minor in one of its schools. It has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the crime.All senior civic officials met on Thursday to reassess the security provided to municipal schools, claiming they have already requested the police to better patrolling in school areas — particularly during the break hour. The meeting was convened by Mayor Arti Mehra who directed the chief vigilance officer to submit the inquiry report within three days. The Mayor warned of strict action against any civic official found guilty in the report.

9-yr old raped by neighbour
Another nine-year-old fell victim to lust on Wednesday evening when she was raped by her neighbour in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar area inside his house. The culprit Chaman Lal, 29, and a driver by profession, has been arrested.Police officers said the girl was going home after tuition around 6 pm on Wednesday. When she was passing by Lal’s house, he called her in, saying he had something for her to do. An officer said, “The girl was raped in the house.” She rushed back and told her mother about the torture, who immediately called in the police. The girl was taken for a medical check-up that confirmed rape.