‘Other families not coming forward due to social stigma’

Chandrapur: Mothers of three victim tribal girls in the sexual abuse case at Rajura have expressed fears that around 18 to 20 girls were abused over a period of several months at the hostel run by Infant Jesus English School. At a press conference on Thursday, they claimed that families of other victim girls are not coming forward due to social stigma.
Meanwhile, a strong crowd comprising over a 10,000 people took out a protest rally demanding justice for the exploited the minor girls.

One such traumatized tribal family is planning to leave the state for the next week or two till the matter dies down, they claimed.

The three mothers narrated their woes and explained the reason for moving the high court. “I spoke to my daughter and other girls while I was at the hostel, and they claimed around 18 to 20 girls had suffered such bouts of unconsciousness. All the girls belong to Std IV to VII,” said one of the mothers.

She got a chance to interact with the hostel girls when she stayed overnight on April 6 with her daughter at the hostel. Shockingly, the hostel authorities had not allowed her to take the ailing daughter home, even though she had been suffering bouts of unconsciousness since two days.

She said the families of victim girls are afraid of the social stigma, and the effect this will have on the future of their daughters. “I have spoken to one such family, which appeared to be in shock and trauma. The father claimed all is well with their girl, and they are going to Punjab for a few days,” she said.

She added families of abused girl are fleeing due to lack of support from the administration. Police have only traced five victim girls, and that too after the parents stepped forward on their own, she said.

The mothers lashed out at the administration for not providing them legal assistance, and maintained no official from collectorate, tribal or women and child welfare department, or child protection cell even came to meet them. It took six days for police to register offences.

Officers of tribal department have gone on record that they were busy in elections so the FIR was delayed, they claimed. “We were kept waiting for 48 hours at the hospital, with no officer to support us in carrying out medical examination to prove sexual abuse of our girls. No one in the school management has been questioned, and they are still free to suppress the victims,” they claimed, explaining the reasons for filing a petition in the high court.

The three mothers were assisted by advocates Paromita Goswami, Kalyan Kumar, and Farhat Baig, and Ghansham Meshram in filing the writ petition before the high court. The HC has issued directives to streamline the investigations. The mothers thanked the high court and expressed hope that at least now they will get justice.

Meanwhile, public outrage poured onto the streets in the form of a protest march by Jan Akrosh on Thursday to condemn the abuse of minor tribal girls at a Rajura hostel.

Members of over 25 tribal organizations from other tehsils and neighbouring districts of Gadchiroli and Yavatmal too arrived in Rajura to support the girls.

Leaders of all major parties, including MLA Sanjay Dhote, ex-MLA Shobhatai Fadnavis, ex-MLA Wamanrao Chatap, Baburao Madavi, Madhukar Kotnake, social worker Paromita Goswami and their supporters joined the protest. They marched from Panchayat Samiti Square to tehsil office before submitting a memorandum of demands to the project officer, tribal development department, Yogesh Kumbhejkar.

Repeated road blocked was witnessed on the busy Hyderabad highway passing through Rajura town. Even after the protest march, activists of tribal organizations once again stalled traffic on the highway at Panchayat Samiti Square in the evening.