Dhuri child rape: Court orders framing of charges against four, including school principal

PATIALA: The court of Sangrur district and sessions judge B S Sandhu on Wednesday ordered framing of charges against four persons in the case where a four-year-old girl was raped by the 27-year-old conductor-cum-helper inside the school premises in Dhuri. The court has now fixed July 10 as the next date for hearing.
The court ordered that while the helper of the school bus be tried for raping the child, the private school’s lady principal and two members of the school management be also charged section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC and section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care And Protection Of Children) Act, 2015, along with certain sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012.
The girl was raped by the man while her parents were also present in the school for a parent-teacher meeting on May 25. He allegedly took the girl to the toilet of the school on the pretext of playing and raped her. On June 4, the police filed the challan against the four accused.
The matter came to light the next day morning when the girl had complained of pain in her abdomen. She then told her mother about the incident. She was taken to the local government hospital where the doctors observed signs of sexually assaulted which was later confirmed in the medical examination.
Following this, the residents gathered and started raising slogans against the police and demanded immediate arrest of the accused. The accused was arrested within a few hours. Later, the names of the two members of the school management and the in charge of the school were also included in the FIR.