Principal alters birth records of minor to aid rape accused, held

Principal alters birth records of minor to aid rape accused, held 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Jaipur : Rajasthan police on Saturday arrested a 50-year-old school principal in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria for allegedly tampering with the birth records of a 14-year-old rape survivor to help the accused secure bail by falsely claiming the girl was not a minor, thus weakening the Pocso case. The girl reported to Jaipur’s Murlipura police station last month that her father and aunt had sold her to a Haryana-based man named Sandeep for Rs 2 lakh, said DCP Amit Kumar. She alleged that Sandeep raped her. Police subsequently filed an FIR under Pocso Act and arrested the girl’s father, aunt, and Sandeep, all of whom are now in judicial custody. 

To undermine the survivor's age and gain a legal advantage, the accused's family members produced a falsified birth record from the school where the minor had been enrolled. The altered documents falsely stated that the girl was born in 2003, making her 21 years old and thus an adult. Police found the birth year had been changed from 2010 to 2003 by principal Vijendra Kumar Mal, in collusion with the survivor’s family, who sought to protect her imprisoned father and aunt. As a result, police filed a second FIR and arrested the principal. 

U’khand headmistress suspended for ‘negligence’ after rape of 4-year-old The acting headmistress of a govt primary school in Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand was suspended for negligence following the alleged rape of a four-year-old girl on the school campus, reports Aakash Ahuja. The incident, involving alleged offenders — one aged eight in Class 2, a 10-year-old in Class 4, and a 12-year-old in Class 5 — came to light on Monday, prompting a departmental inquiry.  District chief education officer KS Rawat visited the school on Wednesday to conduct an investigation. While the headmistress and two other teachers said the incident occurred after school hours, the survivor’s family disputed this, alleging it took place between 10.30am and 11am. The family also alleged the principal left the school around 11am on her scooter. Rawat said the school had high boundary walls and secure gates, making it unlikely for anyone to leave the premises unnoticed. He concluded there was a failure of supervision and discipline, leading the education department to suspend the acting headmistress on Friday. The headmaster was also transferred to another school.