New Delhi: Two underage schoolgirls living in government-run hostels delivered a baby last night in Odisha.
A class VI tribal girl from Umuri Ashram School, a state-run residential school for SC and ST students, in Jeypore, block of Koraput district 500 km from here, delivered a baby Feb 4.
The headmaster and hostel superintendent were arrested Sunday for negligence of duty, not informing the administration about the incident and trying to suppress the matter, said Jeypore sub-divisional police officer Rajendra Senapati.
When the school authorities came to know about this, they took the baby and the minor mother in a jeep to her village in Upperkendi, under the jurisdiction of Semiliguda police, and left them with her parents.
After the district administration came to know about the incident, the welfare extension officer of Jeypore block informed Jeypore police Sunday.
After preliminary investigation, the police arrested school headmaster Kailash Verma and hostel superintendent Sabita Guru.
This is the second incident in the state in the last fortnight. A class X girl of a residential high school at Lingagada in Kandhamal district had delivered a baby in her hostel Jan 23. Police had arrested a man, Sukanta Pradhan, who allegedly got her pregnant.
Pradhan allegedly raped the girl in May 2014 when she had gone to one of her relatives' house at his village. The government has disengaged two contractual teachers, Sasmita Parida and Namita Pradhan, suspended headmistress Ashalata Pati and removed the auxiliary nurse midwife SB Pradhan entrusted to see the health of students.
