Rape fear keeps girls from school

The school in Ooicha village in Kanpur Dehat wears a deserted look. A handful of small children can be seen playing around and the teachers are happily basking in sunlight.

For the fourth consecutive day on Friday, majority of the girl students have stayed away from the school. The reason for this is the rape attempt on a dalit schoolgirl on Monday by three miscreants of the village. Parents are now wary of sending their daughters to the school unless their safety is ensured. The three miscreants, identified as Pradeep, Ash-ok and Satyendra, attempted to rape the 16-year-old girl while she was on her way to school on Monday. When she resisted and screamed for help, they pinned her to the ground and beat her. Her parents lodged a complaint but the accused have not yet been arrested. Derapur circle officer Shashi Shekhar Dixit insists that there is no laxity on the part of the police.

“We are carrying out raids to arrest the accused but they are absconding. We will nab them soon. The girl’s medical examination has also been done”, he said.

Meanwhile, parents in the village claim that harassment of young girls has become a routine feature in the area. They said that young girls are subjected to stalking and lewd remarks by local goons and the police refuses to take action.

“The situation has become so bad that in 2014, a panchayat in Tyonga village had ordered around 150 girls to stop going to school to save them from sexual harassment. This time, we will not rest and if not steps are taken by the government; we will hold a demonstration in front of the state Assembly. We are also taking out a procession at the district headquarters,” said a resident of the village.