Chandi Das, swimming instructor in a Greater Noida private school, arrested for allegedly a 3-year-old child, can’t swim and merely worked as a pump operator.
The police in Greater Noida confirmed that 42-year-old Das did not have certificate for working as a swimming instructor. Some parents said that he would also work as an attendant during the students’ horse riding session before working as a life guard during swimming classes.
Manoj Pant, SHO of Surajpur police station was quoted by Times of India as saying, “He did not have any certificate (in swimming). But whether or not he knew swimming is a matter of investigation.”
Police in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh had arrested the swimming instructor last week after he allegedly raped a three-year-old girl at a private school. 42-year-old Chandi Das was arrested after the girl’s parents filed a police complaint at Surajpur police station.
The victim’s father had said in his complaint, “Our daughter complained of severe body pain after arriving from school on Thursday afternoon. We took her to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in Delhi for a medico-legal test. The test indicated an issue which she suffered on her body. We took her next day to the school where she pointed out to Chandi Das and started crying.”
The school management, however, had defended Das. The school principal was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times, “Recent media reports claiming that a four-year-old girl student being raped at our school are totally baseless and without any proof. He was not our employee and was a lifeguard at the swimming pool. The alleged incident occurred on Thursday when the girl child reported pain in her abdomen to her parents. On receiving a verbal complaint from them about a purported sexual assault on the child by the lifeguard, the school administration swung into action and immediately coordinated with the local police and got the accused taken into custody.”
The parents, around 300 of them, staged a protest outside the school on Monday. They were also incensed over the principal’s defence for Das. They demanded to know as to why a male staff was employed for the swimming instructor’s role adding that ‘why were no CCTV cameras near the pool?”