Hostel officials booked for making girls undress before classmates: Police

The hostel officials asked the girls to undress and change into their own clothes on the spot which caused mental distress for the students, police said.

Kochi: A case was booked against authorities of a pre-matric hostel for forcing some tribal girl students to undress in front of their classmates in Palakkad district of Kerala, police said.

Police said that while the hostel authorities had asked the children to undress keeping their safety in mind, the move violated their privacy. (HT Archives)

The incident took place on September 22 at the pre-matric hostel for tribal students in Sholayur in Attappady.

“During our inquiry, we found that there was some kind of skin infection reported among students there in the hostel which was prone to spread. To prevent the infection from spreading, the wardens had asked the girls to desist from exchanging clothes with their classmates. On that day, while returning from prayers, around 7 girl students had reportedly worn clothes that belonged to others. So the officials asked the girls to undress and change into their own clothes on the spot which caused mental distress for the students,” said a senior police officer at the Sholayar station where the case was registered on Monday.

“When we heard about the incident, we immediately went to the hostel and took the statement of one of the students. Based on the statement, a case has been booked under section 75 (punishment for assault, abandon, neglect or abuse of a child) of the Juvenile Justice Act against three wardens and one counsellor all of whom are women,” the officer said.

The officer said that while the hostel authorities had asked the children to disrobe keeping their safety in mind, the move violated their privacy.

The accused will be questioned as part of further investigation.