A shocking incident has been reported from Karnataka's Yadgir where a class 9 student gave birth to a boy inside the toilet of a government residential school at Shahapur taluk. The incident took place at 2 pm on August 27.
The matter came to light after the girl's classmate saw her in labour pain and informed the school administration. The 17-year-old girl was full-term pregnant, said the police, adding that she was sexually assaulted by an unknown person nine months ago.
At first, the girl did not provide details and told the administration that she was having pain in her stomach, but later gave birth to a boy inside the toilet. The girl and the child have now been admitted to a hospital, and they are in stable condition.
FIR registered, accused identified
According to the police, a case has been registered under the POCSO Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the accused has been identified as a 28-year-old man. The police said a case has also been registered against the hostel warden, the school principal, the staff nurse and the victim's brother for not informing authorities about the victim's pregnancy.
Four school officials suspended
Notably, four school employees, including the principal and the hostel warden, have been suspended by the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Association (KREIS) on charges of
"dereliction of duty and negligence in monitoring the academic and health conditions of students", the police said.
"We will take action after determining where the mistake occurred and identifying the responsible parties. We will not protect anyone. We will take action to prevent such an incident from happening again," said Yadgir DC Harshal Bhoyar and SP Prithvi Shankar in a joint statement.
"We will investigate the matter of parents hiding it and child marriage. We will take necessary action to prevent such an incident. Nodal officers will be appointed and information will be obtained about the problems in the hostel," they added.
Child Rights Commission takes cognisance
The Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken cognisance of the incident. In a statement, it said a suo motu case has been registered against the school principal and other staff, and officials have been directed to submit a detailed report.
It further said a medical check-up of the girl should have been done once a month, but authorities failed to fulfil their duties. "Action should be taken against the officials who were negligent in not conducting a medical check-up. Medical check-ups should be conducted in the residential school to prevent such incidents from happening again," Karnataka Child Rights Commission member Shashidhar Kosumbe said.
