MUMBAI: Taking serious note of the
sexual assault on six
tribal girls, the state
school education department has begun the process of derecognizing the Rajura ashram residential school in
Chandrapur district.
The crime came to light a day after the Lok Sabha elections in Chandrapur on April 11. Six persons, including hostel superintendent Chaban Pachare, deputy superintendent Narendra Virutkae and two female caretakers were arrested.
A case was registered under IPC Section 376 (a)(b), Pocso Act Section 4 and relevant sections of Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The tribal development department, too, conducted a probe to find out if the girls at the hostel were being victimized. The department also accommodated 292
students, including 130 girls, to another school.
“We have delisted the school and recommended that the school education department take stringent action,” said a tribal development department official. School education minister Vinod Tawde said, “Apart from derecognizing the school, the other option would be to replace the management as it would not be easy to accommodate such a large number of students in other Rajura schools.”