Brutal murder of a six-year-old girl student by the principal of a Government school in tribal district Dahod has triggered protests in Gujarat, with the Opposition Congress set to take out a rally while slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party Government over “deteriorating law and order situation” and “safety of women and children” in the State.
On Wednesday (September 25, 2024), State Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil lambasted the Gujarat Government for failing to protect the children and women in the State. “This is the most corrupt and inefficient government that cannot protect even a six-year-old child in a Government school,” Mr. Gohil said.
“What can one expect from this administration that has repeatedly failed to protect women and children,” he added. He also said that the accused is well “connected with the BJP and the RSS.”
He highlighted the photographs of the principal Govind Nat with local politicians.
He said that the Congress party would take out a rally in Ahmedabad on Thursday (September 26, 2024). Earlier, state Congress leaders, including Gujarat women Congress chief Jenny Thummar, visited the family of the child, who was killed by the principal of the school.
So far, the ruling party has not responded to the incident.
The local police arrested the principal for allegedly killing a six-year-old girl student after she resisted his attempt to sexually molest her on Sunday (September 29, 2024).
Police launched a probe after the child’s body was found inside the school compound in a village of Singvad taluka on September 19, 2024.
However, it emerged during the probe that the school principal, Govind Nat, smothered the girl after she fended off his attempt to sexually molest her, Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala said.
“Around 10:20 a.m. on September 19, the principal, who was passing by in his car, agreed to take the child to school in the vehicle at her mother’s request. Students and teachers told police that the girl did not attend school that day,” Mr. Zala told mediapersons.
When questioned, the principal initially insisted that he had dropped her at the school after picking her up in his car, the police officer said. Later, he confessed before the police to killing the girl.
On the way to their school, the principal tried to sexually molest the girl. When she resisted, he covered her mouth and nose to stop her from screaming, thereby making her unconscious, as per the police.
“The principal reached the school and parked his car with the girl’s body inside. At 5 p.m., he took out the body and dumped it behind the school building. He then planted her school bag and slippers in her classroom,” Mr. Zala said.
Technical analysis and the time when he left the school in the evening made him the prime suspect, and he confessed to the crime after interrogation by the cops.
A day after the girl’s body was found, her post-mortem report revealed that she died from smothering.
When the child did not return home after school hours, her parents and relatives launched a search and found her lying unconscious in the compound behind the school building. The child was taken to the Limkheda Civil Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Published - September 25, 2024 10:59 pm IST
