Two cooks of a government Scheduled Tribe residential school-cum-hostel were arrested for sexually abusing of two children here in Kallathupatty village. The warden of the hostel was also suspended.
The accused L.Palani (45) and P.Gubendran (46) had picked up the two children aged seven and 11, who were playing in the hostel porch and physically abused them. On Sunday morning, they told their parents about the incident.
“We received the complaint at about 4.30 p.m and we arrested the accused and remanded them by 11 p.m,” said Inspector Muthukrishnan, of Pappireddypatty police station. The men were remanded under Section 354 of the IPC .
The school has a strength of 67 students belonging to Malayalee hill tribes. Among them, 47 students including 7 girls were staying in the hostel.
According to an investigating officer, the hostel was run with an absentee headmistress, who was also the hostel warden. The warden Hamsaveni was never present. The classes from I to VIII was run with a single teacher.
The hostel warden was not present in the hostel, when the children were subject to abuse.
The incident has yet again lent credence to the persistent criticism of activists against the education department for not dismissing from service persons found guilty of sexual abuse in schools and hostels.
One of the accused Gubendran was earlier employed as a cook in a government middle school for tribal children in Kalathapaadi, where he was found in a compromising position with a woman in school premises. The man was publicly beaten up and was later transferred to this hostel just a month ago as a disciplinary posting.
Speaking to The Hindu , Collector K.Vivekanandan said, the headmistress who was supposed to be staying in the hostel was not present. “We have served suspension order, and we have also replaced the night watchman, who was not present at that time. The children are safe, and the special Tahsildar has been deputed to stay with the children in the hostel,’ Mr.Vivekanandan said.
