Two officials of the education department were on Monday arrested for inaction in the sensational case of alleged rape and sexual assaults of minor inmates of a government-run residential school for tribal girls at Jhaliyamari in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district.
With their arrest, the total number of people held in the case has increased to eight. Those arrested included the alleged three prime accused -two teachers and a peon of the school.
Those arrested on Monday were local Block Education Officer (BEO) S.S. Navarji and Assistant Block Education Officer (ABEO) Jitendra Kumar Nayak.
“Both the BEO and ABEO were arrested for their failure to act against the accused after the shocking incident came to light in November”, Kanker district superintendent of police (SP) Rahul Bhagat told this newspaper.
Police investigation revealed that the local deputy sarpanch Sukalu Ram Netam had reported the BEO on the sexual assaults on the minor inmates of the Jhaliyamari kanyashram, following which, the BEO directed his junior — the ABEO — to probe the matter.
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Attempt to burn woman in Udaipur
Narayan Bareth
Jaipur, Jan. 14
A woman in the tribal belt of Udaipur was forced to undergo humiliation and torture after the caste panchayat branded her a witch. The villagers poured kerosene on her and attempted to burn her, but she resisted and filed a complaint against the village elders. The police has detained three caste elders for torturing the woman and dubbing her witch. The incident occurred on Sunday evening at a village in Udaipur district.
According to the victim, she was summoned by the panchayat in the village while the people gathered for it. A messenger came to her residence and took the victim to the panchayat. The victim told the police that when she appeared before the assembly of people they branded her a witch and blamed her for the illness of the villagers. The victim denied it. But the villagers refused to believe her.