The Chhattisgarh government has ordered an inquiry into a recent incident, in which CRPF personnel allegedly molested girl students of a state-run residential school during a cultural programme held ahead of Raksha Bandhan in the state’s Dantewada district.
The district administration has constituted a five-member panel to look into the allegation while the police has launched a probe after lodging a case.
The incident allegedly took place on 31 July, when a Raksha Bandhan programme was organised by the CRPF troopers at a residential school in Palnar village under Kuakonda police station, Dantewada Collector Saurabh Kumar told PTI.
The paramilitary force, deployed to counter Left-Wing Extremism in the area, has been organising such events at Palnar for the last nine years.
Nearly 500 girls took part in the event, to be telecast on the local news channels, and tied rakhis to the CRPF personnel, said Kumar.
On 1 August, we received a complaint from the hostel warden that three girls were searched by the security personnel on the pretext of frisking, which should not be done with kids. The girls said they were physically searched by the men in uniform when they were returning from the toilet.Saurabh Kumar, District Collector
The collector said that he went to the hostel on 2 August, along with the Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) and local CRPF Deputy Inspector General, and spoke to the girls in the presence of women officials, including the warden.
Kumar added that according to the girls, one security man physically searched them while another kept watching the act.
Based on their statements, a five-member committee, headed by the Dantewada zila panchayat chief executive officer, was formed to probe the matter.Saurabh Kumar, District Collector
Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against the two unidentified security personnel under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Kuakonda police station.
The CCTV footage obtained from the hostel premises was also being analysed, he added.
We are in constant touch with the CRPF, which is also investigating the matter at its level, and trying our best to identify the accused, so that the harshest punishment can be meted out to them.Saurabh Kumar, District Collector
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Soni Sori accused the authorities of “trying to cover up” the issue.
I was not allowed to meet the students when I went to the hostel. I spoke to the girls from the nearby villages who study in the school. They told me that the incident had indeed taken place. Some security personnel followed the girls to the toilet, where they molested them.Soni Sori, AAP Leader
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