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Friday, June 17, 2011

Victim's parents stage dharna in Tirumala against sexual abuse

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TIRUMALA: The controversy over the alleged sexual abuse of junior students in the famed Veda Pathashala at Dharmagiri in Tirumala has come back to haunt the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) again. Aggrieved parents of a boy from Hyderabad staged a dharna in front of the TTD administrative building here on Wednesday demanding justice for their son.

The parents said their son was not in his normal self and looks lost these days. Four senior students were rusticated from the pathashala in May after the alleged sexual harassment of the 13-year-old boy. The parents said they were being harassed for filing a police complaint and urged the TTD to do justice to their son.

They said some officials were verbally abusing them for going to the police. "We will not keep quiet till the authorities bring all the accused to book and register cases against them," they said.

Later, a TTD vigilance official assured the parents of justice. They wanted to meet the executive officer but were denied permission. "Once the new EO takes charge, we will give them an opportunity to air their grievances," a senior official said.

The victim, however, said that some other juniors -- all in the age group of 8 to 10 years -- were also abused by the seniors। The SHRC, which has filed a suo motu case on the happenings in the school, would hear the case on June २७ TOI