Muzaffarnagar: Hostel warden allegedly stripped 70 girls to check if they were menstruating

In a harrowing incident reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, a hostel warden at a residential government school allegedly stripped 70 girls naked because she wanted to check if they were menstruating.

Muzaffarnagar: Students allege that they were stripped naked by warden to check for menstrual blood, also demand strict action against her pic.twitter.com/93SJJI7hmg

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 31, 2017

According to a report in  Zee News, the incident took place on Sunday at Kasturba Gandhi Government Girls hostel in Khatauli area of Muzaffarnagar, when the hostel warden, Surekha Tomar paraded around 70 girls, aged between 8 and 12 years, naked because she was upset over a few blood stains left on the toilet seat. She kept the students locked into a classroom for hours without their clothes. The warden reportedly threatened to beat the girls, when some of the younger girls started crying and tried to resist the move.  “Some blood was found in the bathroom. The warden ordered us to remove our clothes. It was very humiliating for all of us. We want action against her,” one of the students told CNN-News18. The outrageous incident came to light on Wednesday when the students of the school protested against the move and the news was picked up by the media, spurring the local administration into action. The Basic Education Inspector in the district immediately suspended the warden and formed a seven-member committee to probe the incident further, according to a report in News 18. 

Around 70 girls in Muzaffarnagar stripped naked by a warden to “check for menstrual blood”,warden suspended with immediate effect (March 30) pic.twitter.com/kq4TwpRbed

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 31, 2017

Uttar Pradesh government also reacted strongly, with UP minister Shrikant Sharma assuring that due enquiry will be carried out in the incident and the guilty will not be spared. Meanwhile, guardians of students in the school have also criticised the move, with some of them withdrawing their wards from the hostel. A report in  Patrika, states that some of the teachers in the school have also expressed shock at the incident and asked the district administration to take strict action in the issue. Some parents alleged that their daughters were also assaulted and the girls were in shock following the humiliating incident, as reported by NDTV.  Tomar, on the other hand, had accepted that she physically checked the students but said that she was worried about the girls’ health after noticing blood stains in the washroom.  “Nothing of the sort happened. Some blood was found on the floor and wall of the bathroom. I wanted to check if everything was all right with the girls. Such young girls are sometimes unable to express… I just asked them if anything was wrong,” she was quoted by CNN-News 18 as saying. She alleged that the students did not like her because she was strict about studies and other members of the staff were taking advantage of this and were trying to provoke the girls against her.