Maharashtra: 13-year-old girl raped by ashram school official in Chandrapur

A superintendent of an ashram school has been arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl student at the institution in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, police said on Monday.

A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the incident that took place at Ghamabai ashram school in Baranj Tanda village of Bhadravati tehsil, around 30 km from the district headquarters, an official said.

The police on Sunday arrested the accused under section 376 (rape) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered at Hinganghat police station in Wardha district as the victim girl's parents reside there and the case was later transferred to Bhadravati police station, the official said.

The victim was a student at the residential school, where the accused was employed as a superintendent, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ayush Nopani said.

On August 4, the school authorities asked the girl's parents to take her away and issued a transfer certificate, citing that the she was suffering from health problems, he said.

After returning to her house in Hinganghat, the girl informed her family that the school superintendent had raped her, following which the parents lodged a complaint, the official said.

The victim has been sent to Nagpur for a medical check-up and further probe is underway in the matter, he added.

Published on: Monday, August 08, 2022, 02:12 PM IST