A non-teaching staff member at a play school in Bengaluru allegedly sexually assaulted a three-year-old child, The News Minute reported on Monday. The staffer, Manjunath, was arrested on Friday after the child’s parents registered a complaint with the police. However, several parents said the school’s principal was defending Manjunath and was seeking bail for him.

The incident surfaced after the three-year-old complained of abdominal pain and was taken to doctors, who said the child could have been sexually abused. Several other parents also reported that their children had been complaining of pain, with some saying their wards had refused to go to the school, which is located in a popular locality in the city.

The school’s director said Manjunath, who reportedly worked with the institution for eight years, was fired on Saturday. The principal said that they had conducted a thorough background check before hiring him. Police have registered a case against Manjunath under sections of The Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and are conducting investigations.

In a separate incident reported on Monday, a biker sexually assaulted and injured a woman in the city’s HRBR Layout on February 12. The city and its law enforcement agencies have come under scrutiny after several cases of sexual assault were reported in recent months. Multiple incidents of molestation were reported in the city’s MG Road and Brigade Road areas on the night of December 31, 2016. The cases received nationwide attention, and the National Commission for Women sought state Home Minister G Parameshwara’s resignation for derogatory remarks he made about the New Year’s Eve incidents.