Girls stripped for period check in Thane school; principal, attendant arrested
A senior police officer said the arrested will be produced before the court on Thursday.
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4 teachers, 2 trustees among booked.The principal and attendant of a Thane school — both women — were arrested on Wednesday, while four teachers and two trustees were booked for allegedly stripping around 10 girls for checking if they were menstruating, after blood stains were spotted in the washroom.
A senior police officer said the arrested will be produced before the court on Thursday.
According to personnel of Thane Rural police, action was taken against the school management and administration after parents staged a protest. All have been booked under relevant sections of stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In a statement released on Wednesday, police said staff at the school found bloodstains in the toilet on Tuesday and informed teachers and principal about it. In order to find who was responsible, girls studying in Classes 5 to 10 were called to the convention hall, where using a projector they were shown photos of blood stains in the toilet and on the tiles.
The students were then asked to reveal who were on their periods. The teachers took down details, including thumb impression, of the girls who raised their hands, and took the rest of the girls to washrooms where they were stripped and checked by attendants, the statement added.
The daughter of one of the complainant parents was asked by the accused principal why she was using a sanitary pad when she was not menstruating. The principal then accused the minor girl of lying and forcefully took her thumb impression, police said.
The girls went home crying and told their parents about their experience at the school. On Wednesday, several parents protested at the school, seeking stringent action against the management and teachers.
“The act by the accused amounts to mental harassment to the girls,” one of the mothers said in her complaint.
One of the parents registered a case against the school principal, four teachers, the attendant and two trustees, following which they were booked, police said.
Police are identifying witnesses and gathering more evidence from the students.
All the accused have been booked under with sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 76 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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