Police on Friday took into custody four more suspects, thus taking the total number of arrests made in connection with the rape of a minor girl at an ashram school in Buldhana district of Vidarbha region to 11. Those arrested include 2 staff members of the Kokare Adivasi Ashram School at Pala Village, who did not bring the incident to the notice of the police
The Maharashtra Government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an IPS officer to investigate the incident as police suspect that more children could have been sexually exploited.
While Buldhana’s Additional Superintendent of Police Sweta Khedkar will head the SIT, the State CID’s Nagpur Divisional Superintendent Aarti Singh has been asked to visit the school and talk to children and parents of the wards in the school.
“The Buldhana incident is serious. The State Government and police have taken cognizance of it. The police have arrested several people, including the director of the ashram school. Teams of women officers would visit ashram schools across the State, speak to the girls and ascertain if the school managements are implementing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prepared by the State Government to safeguard girl students,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
District Guardian Minister Pandurang Phundkar, who is camping in his constituency (Khamgaon) to monitor the progress of the investigations, had earlier said that two girls have came forward with complaints of alleged abuse.
The shocking incident came to light when the victim, a 10-year-old girl studying in class four, complained to her parents of severe pain in her stomach during a home visit. After enquiries, her parents came to know that she had been sexually assaulted.
The victim’s parents brought the incident to the attention of the Sarpanch of Halkhade Village, who lodged a complaint with the police.
Subsequently, 11 people, including the prime accused Itu Singh Pawar, the school headmaster Bharat lahudkar and teacher Digamdar Kharat, were nabbed by the police in connection with the case.
As many as 300 children, including 100 girls, study and live in the ashram school. The prime accused, Pawar, is a former student of the school. Since some of his relatives’ children study in the school, Pawar used to be a frequent visitor there.
“As Pawar had enrolled 40 to 50 students from his village in this school, the school officials were obliged to him as the school gets aid from the State Government on the basis of number of students studying and living there. No wonder the school officials would let Pawar come to the school anytime and stay there for days on end. The victim was related to him,” a villager reportedly told the police.
Talking to media persons in Mumbai, Maharashtra Director General of Police Satish Mathur said, “We have arrested eleven people, including the prime accused, in connection with the incident. We are looking for two more accused against whom we have registered a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). Taking into consideration the seriousness of the incident, we have set up an SIT to probe the incident.”
The Opposition Congress and NCP condemned the incident and demanded the immediate dismissal of Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savra.
leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress said, “There are so many instances of corruption in the department headed by Savra. The malnutrition deaths of tribal children are continuing unabated. And now we have a shocking incident at Buldhana. I do not know how long the Chief Minister will protect Savra”.
Talking to reporters after visiting the school, NCP’s State women wing president Chitra Wagh demanded that Savra resign from his post accepting his “moral responsibility” for the incident. “In addition, an offence should be registered against the Minister concerned,” she said.
On his part, Savra visited the school and announced that the State Government would cancel its recognition. During his visit to the school, the villagers staged a black flag demonstration against Savra.