Girl pregnant; caretaker, cook of residential school arrested

A caretaker and a cook at a government residential school for mentally challenged children here were arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting a 15-year-old girl.

A caretaker and a cook at a government residential school for mentally challenged children here were arrested late Thursday night for allegedly sexually exploiting a 15-year-old girl. The girl’s parents filed a complaint after they found out she was five months pregnant when she had returned home for the vacations.

“The girl took the names of senior caretaker Kisan Bawne and cook Bharat Kambli when she was asked about the matter,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Nirmala Devi said.

Bawne and Kambli, both in their 50s, are also alleged to have taken photographs and videos of the girl. The duo are suspected to have exploited the girl for over five months. Asked if the two could be involved in similar assaults on other girls in the school, Nirmala Devi said, “that is under investigation.”

Incidentally, the school having 15 girls and over 20 boys has only one female caretaker, who works in shifts. In her absence, Bawne and Kambli hold command of the school.

The school is run by the State department for children with special disabilities, headquartered in Pune.

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