The entire staff of a Government school in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, comprising 14 teachers and the principal, were on Wednesday booked in three gang rape cases on the complaints lodged by four students. The minor girls alleged that the teachers had been raping them with the help of their female colleagues.
The police have registered FIRs under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and launched investigation. One of the FIRs was based on the complaint of two sisters studying in the school, while the others were registered on the complaint of two other students.
While no arrests were made till Wednesday evening, the investigating team at Mandhan police station in Behror sub-division probed into the aspect of “false complaints” having been made against the teachers at the instance of one of their former colleagues, who was arrested on charges of molestation last year.
‘Testified as witnesses’
A teacher from the same school, accused of molesting a Dalit student, was arrested and sent to jail in December last year. Since he was released on bail recently, the police suspect that he could be involved in the complaints being lodged against the staff members, all of whom had testified against him as witnesses in the court during the trial of the case.
Chief Block Education Officer of Behror, Shashi Kapoor, who visited the school on Wednesday, told The Hindu that the Education Department had launched an inquiry into the matter and was recording the statements of the students. In addition to the criminal proceedings, the Department would take appropriate action in the case, Mr. Kapoor said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Congress Government over the alleged incident and demanded an immediate arrest of all the accused teachers. BJP’s State president Satish Poonia said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the Home portfolio, should resign if he was unable to provide a safe environment for women and take care of the law and order situation in the State.