A CRPF constable has been arrested and another jawan has been identified in connection with the alleged molestation of girl students of a state-run residential school during a cultural programme in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.
The two men were identified based on statements of the victims and photographs of the event, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap. The two CRPF personnel have also been placed under suspension, said an official press release.
The CRPF also added that the case was handed over to the local police for further investigation.
Shamim Ahmed (31) of the CRPF’s 231 battalion was arrested on 8 August, and would be produced before a local court, the SP said.
A police team was sent to nab the other identified personnel, who is believed to be on leave since 3 August and went to his hometown Dehradun in Uttarakhand after the incident came to light.
The incident allegedly took place on 31 July, when a ‘Raksha Bandhan’ programme was organised by the CRPF troopers ahead of the festival, at the state-run residential school in Dantewada’s Palnar village under Kuakonda police station.
The paramilitary force, deployed to counter Left-Wing Extremism in the area, has been organising such events in Palnar since some years.
Nearly 500 girls took part in the 31 July event and tied rakhis to the CRPF personnel. The event was aired on a local news channel on 7 August.
Later, the school hostel’s warden complained to the district administration that the CRPF personnel allegedly followed the girls to the toilet and molested them on the pretext of frisking, the SP said.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was lodged under IPC Section 354 (molestation) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Kuakonda police station, he said.
Earlier, Dantewada Collector Saurabh Kumar said the district administration had formed a five-member committee headed by zila panchayat's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to look into the matter.
The CRPF was also conducting an inquiry into the incident at its level, he had said.
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