Odisha: Class 8 Girl Gives Birth To Baby In School Hostel, 6 Employees Suspended

In a state-run residential school in Kandhamal district in Odisha, a student delivered in her hostel a baby girl, following which the authorities suspended six employees for failing to report the matter.

According to Kandhamal District Welfare Officer (DWO) Charulata Mallick, the 14-year-old class VIII student delivered the baby on January 12, Saturday, and that a third-year student has been arrested in connection to the incident. The girl claimed that she had to seek shelter in a forest with her baby after both of them were thrown out of the hostel. They were traced and found in the forest and then taken to a hospital. The tribal and rural development department of Odisha runs the school, reported NDTV.

Man detained for rape

The opposition is sharply criticizing the government over the incident. According to Odisha minister Ramesh Majhi, he has asked the district collector to probe the incident and that it will be ensured that a report is submitted stating the details of the circumstances under which the girl became pregnant.

“The government has taken a serious view of the incident,” he said. Further, district collector D Brunda said that the institute has suspended two matrons, two cook-cum-attendants, a lady supervisor and an auxiliary midwife. The suspension of the school’s headmistress Radha Rani Dalei has been recommended by the government.

After learning about the incident, a national highway was blocked by the residents and they also gathered outside the school. However, after a man was detained by the police for having allegedly sexually abused the girl, the blockade was removed, reported Hindustan Times.

“The girl was raped eight months ago when she had gone to her village. She did not report the ordeal due to fear and shame. The main accused has been arrested,” said Kandhamal police superintendent Pratik Singh. Reportedly, both the baby and the woman are in a stable condition.

Around a year back, a class IX girl was allegedly raped and impregnated by a school’s headmaster in Koraput district, which is a tribal-dominated area. Also, in Malkangiri district, a cook at a school was arrested in 2017 for repeatedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and impregnating her. Officials said that more than 20 cases of teen pregnancies in tribal schools were reported across the state in 2015 alone.

It is unfortunate that a girl is not safe in a girls’ hostel, and that cases of sexual abuse have become so common in the state. Home and school are two places a girl should be most comfortable at, but sadly, nowhere can a girl’s safety be assured today. The Logical Indian hopes that strict action is taken against the perpetrator.

Also read: Maharashtra: Teachers & Headmaster Rape 12 Minor Tribal Girls, 3 Pregnant; 7 Accused Held