Schoolgirl resisting sexual assault killed in Gujarat, principal held

Police said the principal confessed after being confronted with questions regarding the child’s absence from school Thursday as well as his own “time of leaving” the premises. The principal allegedly dumped the body in the school backyard after school hours, having kept it hidden in his car the entire day as he went about his routine.

Dahod Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala said the breakthrough came following a detailed investigation by 10 different teams of officers who gathered accounts of the girl’s classmates, teachers and villagers.

Zala said, “After a detailed investigation, it was certain that the child was last seen with the school principal. Her mother had seen her off at their village home at around 10.20 am that morning and entrusted her to the principal, who was to take her along to the school in his vehicle… However, from the statements of other students and teachers, we ascertained that the child did not attend school on Thursday.”

Zala said that initially the principal said he “was unaware” where the child went after he dropped her at school, but later confessed.

The police, in a statement, said that the principal also tried to mislead the investigation officers, claiming that he had “received a phone call in the evening from the class teacher, informing him that the child was missing”. Since he could not convince the police, a technical investigation into his mobile phone location was initiated.

Zala said, “From the time at which he left the school after dispersal, we had a clue that something was amiss… During interrogation, he confessed that he had attempted to force himself upon the victim on the way to school in his car. However, the girl had resisted and began screaming. To silence the girl, he smothered her…”

“The principal then went about his day as usual and kept the body of the girl in the car for the entire day. After school dispersal, he pulled out the body from his car and threw it in the backyard. He also took out her slippers from his car, and placed them outside the classroom and also left her bag in the class.”

The police said that from the technical investigation of the principal’s mobile phone, it was established that he had taken “longer than usual” to reach the school Thursday morning.

From the girl’s classmates as well as teachers, the police learnt that she had not come to school nor was her body seen in the backyard during school hours. “Moreover, the students and teachers said that the victim’s footwear and bag were also not present in the classroom throughout the day…,” the police said.

According to the police, one of the students had also said that he had “seen the victim sleeping in the principal’s car”, when school dispersed. The investigation also established that the principal “left the school at the end” after everyone else, the police said.

Meanwhile, Dahod District Education officer A A Bariya, who visited the school on Saturday, has issued show-cause notice to the school principal as well as the teachers concerned to explain why they had not reported the missing child if her bag was in the classroom.