MP principal booked for obscene comments on clothes of girl students

The school education department has also ordered a departmental inquiry against the principal and suspended him

Published on: Sep 6, 2021, 16:41:42 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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A government school principal has been booked for insulting and commenting on the clothes of girl students, while scolding them for not wearing uniforms in Rajgarh district, said police on Monday.

An FIR has been registered against the school principal Radheshyam Malviya under sections 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act at Machalapur police station, said Prateek Sharma, superintendent of police, Rajgarh. Malviya is on the run and police are trying to nab him.

According to students of classes 11 and 12, the principal scolded them on Saturday for not wearing the school uniform. “We informed him that the school uniforms had not been stitched yet, but he kept scolding us and started insulting us. He said the girls wore ‘fashionable’ clothes to attract boys and it’s girls like us who are responsible for ‘spoiling’ the boys. He asked us to come naked to the school,” said the girl students in a complaint to police.

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Later, when the parents confronted the principal, he changed his statement and said he had just asked the girl students to follow the rules by wearing the school uniform, said one of the complainants. The students also staged a protest against him on Sunday.

The school education department has also ordered a departmental inquiry against the principal and suspended him.

Rajgarh district education officer BS Bisoriya said, “We came to know about the FIR against the school principal. I have ordered an inquiry in the matter.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More