Kaithal sexual abuse: Girls of Class XII broke silence, informed sarpanch’s father

Tribune News Service

Parveen Arora

Karnal, December 8

A case of sexual harassment of girl students at a government senior secondary school in a village of Kaithal district came to light after Class XII students broke their silence on December 4 and filed a written complaint with the father of the village sarpanch.

The sarpanch’s father helped the victims to file a complaint against the principal, Ravi Kumar, who has been arrested. A contractor, hired for construction work in the same school, has been booked for the same offence. The contractor is absconding.

Contractor booked, too; at large

• The number of victimised students could be high as more students spoke against the principal during a visit of the SIT constituted by the Kaithal SP.
• A contractor, hired for construction work in the same school, has been booked for the same offence.
• The contractor is absconding.

“I am proud of the girls for raising their voice and hope they will get justice. We will also ensure that the school authorities take necessary steps to prevent such incidents in future,” he stated.

In the complaint to the sarpanch’s father, the girls alleged that they were being harassed by the principal and the contractor for the past several days. They said the principal used to threaten to rusticate them from school if they spoke about it. “They were scared to complain to anyone as they feared for their safety and reputation, but after the visit of the sarpanch’s father, they gathered courage and approached him to narrate their ordeal,” said a teacher on the condition of anonymity.

“We registered a case immediately after getting a written complaint from the students. We have arrested the principal and efforts are being made to nab the contractor,” said SP Upasana.

The number of victimised students could be high as more students spoke against the principal during a visit of the SIT constituted by the Kaithal SP. The SIT, led by Guhla DSP Kuldeep Beniwal, visited the school today and talked to students, teachers and parents.

“I, along with other team members, visited the school and inquired from students, teachers and parents. Some of them alleged that the behaviour of the principal was rude, but nobody filed a written statement,” said the DSP.

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