NRHC notice to Keonjhar SP on school rape case

National Human Rights Commission today issued a notice to superintendent of police in Odisha's Keonjhar district seeking an action taken report within four weeks on a headmaster allegedly raping a Class II tribal girl student in a government run primary school in April this year.
An eight-year-old student of a government primary school was allegedly raped by headmaster Gadadhar Mahanta in April this year.
When the girl informed her mother, the headmaster suspended her from the school.
The girl's father lodged an FIR in the local Harichandanpur police station on April 20 following which the headmaster was arrested a day after.

"We had arrested the accused immediately the day after the incident was brought to our notice after conducting a medical examination of the victim," Keonjhar SP Kavita Jalan said today.
Subsequently the district inspector of schools conducted an inquiry following an order from the School and Mass Education department.

"But till date, no administrative action was taken against the accused," said advocate and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das, who moved the NHRC.
In his application to the NHRC, Das has sought its intervention for a fair inquiry and making arrangements for counselling of the victim so that she was able to continue her studies.

Das mentioned that since the victim was a poor tribal girl, the state government must pay adequate compensation to her family.