NAGPUR: A zilla parishad school headmaster in remote Kukkametta village in Bhamragarh taluka in tribal-dominated Gadchiroli district was arrested earlier this week for flashing at girl students.
Gadchiroli police, under supervision of SP Neelotpal, ensured that the accused headmaster, identified as Ravindra Gawhare, 45, was immediately arrested after tribal families thronged Laheri police post of Bhamragarh taluka with a complaint. He was produced before the court on Thursday which remanded him in police custody for five days.
The school imparts primary education to tribal girls who started going to school regularly after the Maoists started losing influence over the last few years in remote hamlets. There were numerous occasions previously when Maoists lured tribal girls from these hamlets to join them and their education took a backseat.
According to sources, Gawhare is accused of indecent exposure before at least four minor schoolgirls. He is accused of calling the girls to his office on some frivolous pretext and then flashed before them. Gawhare threatened the girls with murder and expulsion from school if they narrated the incident to anyone.
The matter came to light when two minor girls from the same family refused to go to school. Their sudden apprehension against going to school left the family looking for answers. Sources said one of the minors confided about their harassment to her grandmother.
Their parents also sensed something was amiss and questioned the girls, who revealed about the headmaster’s despicable actions. The parents also learnt that Gawhare committed similar acts with other girls too. Subsequently the tribal families reached Laheri police post to lodge a formal complaint against the headmaster. Police booked Gawhare under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Sources said Bhamragarh SDPO Amar Mohite is probing the case under supervision of Neelotpal, additional SPs Yatish Deshmukh and M Ramesh. “Given the sensitivity and gravity of the case, senior ranking officials are monitoring the case,” said Neelotpal.
