The parents of a 16-year-old schoolgirl in India, who was allegedly gang-rape by four fellow students at the boarding school she attended in the city of Dehradun, have claimed that their daughter was refused a seat at the new school “as she’ll spoil the atmosphere” at the school.
According to local media, the schoolgirl was attacked at the Dehradun boarding school on 14 August and became pregnant as a result of the gang-rape. The school staff, however, hid the incident from the girl’s parents and the police for a month and allegedly tried to terminate her pregnancy by giving the schoolgirl medicated drinks.
Usha Negi, Chairman of the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (USCPCR) revealed: “After the girl informed the school administration about the incident, she was given various types of drinks for terminating the pregnancy. We have learnt that the medicated drinks were given to her by the administrator and his wife who instead of reporting the matter to the police were busy in trying to hush it up.”
Police investigations are presently ongoing and the police have arrested the four accused pupils and five staff members at the Dehradun boarding school, including the school’s director, principal and administrative officer. Senior Superintendent of Police Nivedita Kukreti told the press:
“We are looking into the complaint. We will send a team to the school concerned to take its version on Monday as it closed for puja holidays. Meanwhile, we are also exploring the legal course of action to be taken in a case like this.”
The victim’s ordeal, however, appears to be far from over. According to the Gulf News Asia, one school that the girl’s distraught parents contacted in hopes of getting their child a new school placement refused their application, claiming that the victim would “spoil the atmosphere on campus.”
The school’s heartless response has earned the wrath of hundreds of people from several quarters, including former USCPCR chairman Yogendra Khandur who blasted the schools that rejected the schoolgirl, asserting that the horrific attack that happened to her should not affect her school placements:
“How can they deny admission to the child? If the girl has merit, there is no reason why they should refuse to take her in. They should give her admission even on humanitarian ground as she is a rape survivor who has suffered trauma.”