While Gujarat is getting ready to welcome the most powerful man in the world – Donald Trump, it is heartbreaking to see how a school in Gujarat failed to save a helpless 16-year-old daughter.
In a shocking incident a 16-year-old student in Surendranagar, Gujarat who had earlier accused the school principal of sexually abusing her multiple times, has attempted suicide.
Giving up on her life challenges the girl attempted to kill herself last Wednesday. On the same day Batuk Bhatti, the principal, was arrested on charges of sexually abusing the minor girl.
As per the complaint, the principal not only raped her twice but also molested her several times over the last year. This horrific treatment resulted in extreme physical and mental trauma. The superintendent of police Mahendra Bagadia mentioned:
“The minor girl’s parents informed the police that a trustee of the residential school in Chotila had sexually assaulted and raped their daughter, following which the accused was arrested.
The principal has been under sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) but also SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Acts, as the victim belongs to the Dalit community.”
The parents of the victim are laborers who work in Rajkot, about 50 kilometers from the school. The family also alleged that their daughter attempted suicide in the past when she was first raped by Bhatti in December inside his office. Not only the school principal raped this 16-year-old but also threatened her that he will leak her photos if she revealed the sexual assaults to anyone.
After the horrific details came to light, the sad and angry parents and relatives of the victims pelted the stones at the school. Since then the school has been shut and the students living in the hostel have been taken home by the parents.
It is disheartening to see how the amended POCSO Act, which made the sexual assault on minors punishable by the death penalty, has failed to control the sexual abuse of our kids.
At IFORHER, we are shocked and heartbroken how we have failed to save our innocent and vulnerable kids from the hands of sex-deprived monsters. It shames us how we have left our kids to feel so helpless that they are left with no other choice but to commit suicide.
