The founder and the cook at a government-aided educational institute in Walwa taluka of Sangli were arrested on Wednesday night on charges of sexual assault and molestation of girls in the school hostel. While the founder is a 61-year-old man, the cook is a woman.
According to the police, the school’s founder allegedly sexually assaulted five girls and molested three others in the past six months.
A case under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 and 354 and Sections 5 and 6 of Protection of Children against Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, 2012 was registered at Kurlap police station under Sangli city police superintendent’s jurisdiction.
The school and attached accommodation facility is home to around 70 girls. Among the five girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted, one is a major while the rest are minors. The victims of molestation are all minors, police said. They were allegedly lured with promises of advancing them in school and letting them pass an exam.
“The social welfare department is in the process of shifting the other girls to another location. If and when other lapses in their organisation are found, action will be initiated against the school,” said Kishor Kale, deputy superintendent of police, Islampur division of Sangli.
He said the tip-off came in the form of a letter through post with the names of a few girls. “The girls have been referred to a hospital in Islampur for medical tests. However, if need be, they will be taken to Sangli,” Kale said.
{{/usCountry}}He said the tip-off came in the form of a letter through post with the names of a few girls. “The girls have been referred to a hospital in Islampur for medical tests. However, if need be, they will be taken to Sangli,” Kale said.
{{/usCountry}}“So far, we have come across incidents from the past six months. We received an anonymous letter on Tuesday hinting at such practices in the school. We went there without letting them know that we are policemen and inquired about it. Today (Wednesday) we went there along with members from child welfare committee (CWC) and women and child development (CWD) department, recorded the statements of the girls and are now in the process of registering an offence. We have detained the two and they will be arrested after the offence is registered,” said police inspector Vivek Patil of Kurlap police station of Sangli city police.
“These are children from poor families. The cook used to send the girls “upstairs” to the founder’s office and helped him. They listened to her and he lured them into it,” Patil added.