CRPF chief in Tura accused of helping principal
TURA: The principal in charge of Kendriya Vidyalaya Tura and a senior teacher of the school were arrested on Thursday afternoon for the alleged rape of two school students.
The arrests took place after two students narrated their tale of ordeal to other students and their families.
Commandant of the 120 CRPF Bn based at Tura, R.K. Behara, also stands accused of attempting to whisk away the principal from the school premises after students raised a hue and cry over the incident.
The sexual assault on two Class XII students allegedly took place on the evening of September 3 after the principal in charge, Yogesh Joshi, and another teacher identified as Deepjyoti Das, invited some senior students to celebrate the former’s birthday.
Three girls and four boys were invited to the principal’s official quarters on that evening for the celebration during which the fruit juice served for two of the two girls was allegedly spiked with alcohol.
“When we were inside the house, the principal and the other teacher kept the two girls in one room while confining us in another. The door of our room was also bolted from the other end,” narrated one of the girl students who happened to be present at the spot on that fateful evening.
The ordeal for the two girls did not end that night as the principal and Deeepjyoti Das began blackmailing the two students for sexual favours with frequent calls and punishing them during school hours for refusal to comply with their demands.
One of the victims was allegedly sexually assaulted several times in the weeks that followed. The matter came to such a pass that the victim even went to the extent of inflicting wounds on herself in frustration.
Unable to bear the humiliation and harassment the two girls narrated their ordeal to their classmates and on Thursday morning the students decided to take action.
They surrounded the accused school principal in his office and demanded answers in the presence of the victims and the rest of the school students.
In the melee Deepjyoti Das quietly slipped away and fled the scene.
The accused principal reportedly called up the CRPF commandant who happened to be his friend.
The commandant arrived on the scene in a vehicle bearing a commercial number which was concealed in black tape.
Seeing the attempt by the central police officer to take away the principal a group of young students blocked the gate to prevent him from fleeing.
The CRPF commandant eventually left the premises in the same vehicle leaving behind his friend to the mercy of the students.
Police arrived on the scene and took away the principal to the police station where he was soon after placed under arrest after the victims filed an FIR of sexual assault.
In the meantime, Deepjyoti Das who had escaped from the school was unable to get out of Tura town after a red corner alert was given out by police and checking of vehicles exiting the town began.
He called up the police expressing his willingness to give himself up and soon surfaced at Orchid Lodge hotel, opposite the school, at Najing Bazar from where he was taken into custody.
Chairperson of Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Meena Kharkongor, has already taken up the matter with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Kharkongor, who is currently camping in Garo Hills has called for medical reports and necessary documents including the copy of the FIR.