Dehradun: Minor gang raped in boarding school, authorities suppressed issue

The principal and four other officials of a boarding school in Sahaspur in Dehradun district were arrested on Tuesday after a Class 10 girl student accused them of suppressing the matter of her gang rape by senior students in August, police said.

Nine people -- four students accused of perpetrating the crime and five members of the school staff including its director, principal and administrative officer -- have been arrested, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar said.

Four students of the school have also been detained for questioning. The school staff arrested are its director Lata Gupta, Principal Jitendra Sharma, administrative officer Deepak Malhotra, his wife Tanu Malhotra and a maid named Manju.

The victim, who lives with her elder sister in the girls hostel, has alleged that a school official tried to spike her drink with medicines to terminate her pregnancy after the rape.

The 16-year-old said that on the eve of Independence Day, on the pretext of preparations for an August 15 event, the four senior boys sexually assaulted her.

The police said the matter came to light after the victim complained to her sister. The survivor first confided her ordeal to her elder sister when she realised that she might be pregnant.

The school has been accused of trying to suppress the matter, first by requesting the girl not to take the matter ahead and then by trying to mix drugs into her drinks for abortion, an officer said.

They threatened to throw the two girls out of the school if they disclosed it to anyone

The girl has since recorded her statement before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in the presence of officials of the Child Welfare Department of the Uttarakhand government.

The girl has named four students of Class 12 who allegedly raped her.