Maharashtra: Tribal girls raped in hostel, 2 officials held in Chandrapur

CHANDRAPUR: The superintendent and deputy superintendent of a tribal girls’ hostel attached to an English medium school in Rajura town of Chandrapur were arrested over the weekend for sexual abuse of girls.
The arrests were made after medical tests confirmed the rape of two girls, aged 9 and 11, who were admitted to Chandrapur Government Hospital on April 6 for overdose of sedatives.Sources said police recovered condoms and Viagra pills from hostel superintendent Chaban Pachare’s office.
Activists said more girls might have been abused, and alleged that 13 of them had fallen unconscious on April 6. Police said they have obtained the names of girls who had fallen unconscious and have sent teams to their houses to record their statements. Sources said the hostel has 300 students, including 130 girls. Pachare was arrested on Saturday. Hostel deputy superintendent Narendra Virutkar was arrested on Sunday.
The police and the tribal department swung into action after finance minister and Chandrapur guardian minister Sudhir Mungantiwar ordered a detailed inquiry into the abuse of minor tribal girls in the hostel. “We have arrested two employees of the tribal hostel after incriminating material was recovered from the office of one of them on the hostel premises,” SP Maheshwar Reddy told TOI. He said one more girl who claimed to have suffered similar bouts of unconsciousness has been sent for a medical examination.
Social worker and MNS leader Raju Kukde, who met the SP with a delegation, alleged 13 girls had fallen unconscious on April6.
They were taken to a local private hospital in Rajura and treated. However, two of them were in serious condition and referred to Chandrapur GMCH. During initial examination, the doctor found a swelling on the private parts of one of the girls and suspected rape. He tipped off the Mardani Mahila Manch, which first raised the issue with the police. The two girls in hospital, however, refused to allow a medical examination for almost a week. Finally, a couple of days ago, doctors sedated them with the consent of their parents and carried out a medical examination which confirmed rape.
Offences under IPC Section 376 (a)(b) and Section 4 of the Pocso Act and relevant sections of the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were registered.
Social worker Paromita Goswami condemned the incident and said more girls might have been abused. She interacted with the hostel girls in Rajura and said the girls were given the sedative in ORS and other drinks. She said the exploitation had been going on probably for over a year. The father of a girl has claimed that his daughter had suffered similar bouts of unconsciousness even two years ago, she said.
She said the hostel management violated norms by allowing males into the girls’ hostel at night and demanded the arrest of warden Neeta Thakre.
The director of the institute which runs the hostel is Congress ex-MLA Subhash Dhote. The hostel management has suspended superintendent Chaban Pachare with immediate effect.