Muzaffarnagar: 17 school girls drugged, molested on pretext of exam, say UP Police

An FIR has been lodged against the managers of two schools in UP’s Muzaffarnagar after 17 girls of Class 10 were drugged and then allegedly molested on the pretext of a practical exam. On 18 November, the two school managers of Purkaji town stopped 17 girls from Bhopa at GGS International School at night, spiked their food and allegedly molested them. No female teacher was present with the girls and families alleged that even after the police got information about the incident, the cops made attempts to save the school managers. They allegedly also tried to pressure a local journalist by lodging a complaint against him from the school managers for spreading rumours and blackmailing. The matter finally came to light 17 days later when local BJP MLA Pramod Utwal intervened and a probe was ordered. The girls were also threatened that they would be failed in exams and their families would be killed if they told anyone about the incident. The students stopped going to school the next day and narrated the entire incident to the family members. The girls alleged that they had made khichdi for dinner but the school manager threw it out and made fresh food, which was allegedly spiked. The FIR has been registered against Yogesh Kumar, the operator of Surya Dev Public School, Bhopa, and Arjun Singh, the operator of GGS International School Purkaji, under POCSO Act and other relevant sections of the IPC. Meanwhile, the SHO who tried to downplay the incident and ignored the complaints has been shunted out. Speaking about the incident, Utwal said: “The police station tried its best to suppress the matter. The girl students who were victimised are financially weak.” SSP Muzaffarnagar Abhishek Yadav said: “A complaint was received from the father of a girl studying in a school under Purkazi police station area and a case was registered in this regard. Five teams have been constituted, including SOG and Crime Branch, and soon both the accused will be arrested. Also, SHO Purkazi has been removed for his laxity and inquiry has been initiated to ascertain if other cops showed laxity in this case."