The child studying at the Modern High School was allegedly raped on November 11 when the institution celebrated the Children's Day, 'Gulf News' reported, adding the parents notified police on January 9.
The bus driver was employed with the school and its transportation service provider for 14 years, it said. The conductor of the bus, among the three suspects arrested, was with the school for seven years.
"My daughter is scared and can't sleep. She is scared at night and doesn't want to sleep. Our 4-year-old daughter never told us what had happened. The stains on her clothes made me suspicious," the mother of the girl said.
"She only confided in us after we spoke to her based on medical reports that confirmed that she was raped by three men," the Indian homemaker, who hails from Delhi, said.
The girl has not gone back to school since the alleged incident.
"Our family was shattered beyond words when we found out," the woman said.
"She usually comes back by 10.15am. I called the conductor to find out what time the bus would reach near our home in Karama and he replied that they would be on time."
A few minutes later, the conductor called back to say that she need not come to the stop and that he would call her once they arrived. "But I felt uneasy and went down anyway and informed the conductor that I was already there," she recounted.
"By 11 am the bus arrived. I asked my daughter how the day went, but she did not mention anything."
While the mother changed the child's clothes, she saw they were stained and asked her about it.
"She just replied — nothing. I put away the clothes in the laundry bin. Thankfully, I didn't get the time to wash them for the next 4 to 5 days," she said, adding that she cannot imagine the situation if she washed the clothes and the incident had gone unnoticed.