07 December 2021
Muzaffarnagar: Seventeen Class 10 girls were drugged and then allegedly molested on the pretext of a practical exam in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. An FIR has been lodged against the managers of two schools.
According to Uttar Pradesh police, this incident happened on the night of November 18 when two school managers of Purkaji town stopped 17 girls from Bhopa at GGS International School at night, spiked their food, and allegedly molested them.
The girls alleged that they were drugged and molested by their school principal and his associate after being asked to stay the night to prepare for "practical exams", which were to be held in another school in the same area, the next day.
No female teacher was present with the girls and families alleged that even after the police got information about the incident, the cops made attempts to save the school managers.
The matter finally came to light 17 days later when local BJP MLA Pramod Utwal intervened and a probe was ordered.
An FIR in the matter has been filed and five teams have been formed to arrest the accused, the police said.
"We have suspended the station house officer of the police station for negligence on duty. An FIR has been filed and the accused Yogesh Kumar, the operator of Surya Dev Public School, Bhopa, and Arjun Singh, the operator of GGS International School Purkaji have been charged under section 328 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 358 (causing hurt by poison), 506 (criminal intimidation) and relevant sections of the POCSO Act," said Muzaffarnagar police chief Abhishek Yadav.
The girls were also threatened that they would be failed in exams and their families would be killed if they told anyone about the incident. The students stopped going to school the next day and narrated the entire incident to the family members. The girls alleged that they had made khichdi for dinner but the school manager threw it out and made fresh food, which was allegedly spiked.
Out of 29 students in class, only girls were called for "practical exams", said a complainant.