Tired Of Being Sexually Abused By Principal, Dalit School Girl From Gujarat Attempts Suicide

A 16-year-old Dalit student in Surendranagar, Gujarat who had accused the headmaster of her school of sexually abusing her several times has attempted suicide.

The girl tried to kill herself on Wednesday, the same day Batuk Bhatti, the headmaster, who is also a trustee of Kamal Vidyamandir School, in Chotila was arrested on charges of sexually abusing the minor girl.

According to her complaint, Bhatti had raped her twice and molested her several times over the period of a year, which resulted in severe physical and mental trauma. "The minor girl's parents informed the police that a trustee of the residential school in Chotila had sexually assaulted and raped their daughter, following which the accused was arrested," superintendent of police Mahendra Bagadia said.

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Bhatti has been booked under sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Acts, as the victim belongs to the Dalit community, he said. Bhatti, who was presented in a local court on Wednesday was sent to police custody for further interrogation.

Both the parents of the victim are labourers and work in Rajkot, about 50 kilometre from Chotila. The family also alleged that the girl attempted suicide in the past also after she was first raped by Bhatti in December inside his office. They also alleged that Bhatti used to threaten her claiming that he will leak photos of her if she revealed the sexual assaults to anyone.

AFP

After the sexual assault case came to light, agitated parents and relatives of the victim gathered outside the school and pelted stones, damaging the school bus and building. The school has since been shut and the students who have been living in the hostel were taken away by parents.

According to the amended POCSO Act, aggravated sexual assault on minor girls is a crime that is punishable by the death penalty.

BCCL

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2018 showed that Gujarat had recorded a 16% rise in rape cases. In 2018 there were a total of 553 rape cases in the state, up from 477 in 2017. Sexual offences against children registered under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act also saw an increase during the same period. The number of POCSO cases had risen from 1,671 in 2017 to 2,127 in 2018 which is an increase of 28%.