Two tailors booked for molesting 100 tribal girl students in Uttarakhand school

Rudrapur, September 13

Two tailors hired by a residential school meant for tribals in Khatima have been booked for allegedly molesting around 100 girl students while taking their measurements for uniforms, police said on Wednesday.

Shakeel and Mohammad Umar were booked on Monday under Section 354 (using criminal force to outrage modesty of a woman) of the IPC on the basis of a complaint lodged by Parents’ Association president Rajbir Singh Rana, Khatima Additional SP Veer Singh said.

The residential school is in Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district where 250 Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, including 120 girls, study.

According to an inquiry conducted by Khatima SDM Ravindra Bisht into the incident, about 100 girls were inappropriately touched by the accused while taking their measurements, Singh said.

It was all done in the presence of three members of staff of the school who remained mute spectators, the ASP said.

In the FIR, the three staff members — Ashok Arya, Mamta Kholia and Chandrashekhar — have been accused of making fun of the students instead of coming to their rescue.

Ashok Arya told the girls that nothing would happen even if they were raped, the FIR said. No arrest has been made in the case yet.

The ASP said the three staffers were contractual employees of the school whose contracts have been terminated following the incident.

The FIR also said that similar incidents had occurred at the school in the past too but the school staff threatened the girls to oust them if they opened up. The ASP said the school administration is also being interrogated.