Jharkhand: Girl 'raped' by her school teacher, three held

SIMDEGA: A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her school teacher in Jharkhand's Simdega district, police said on Tuesday. The accused government school teacher and two others were arrested in connection with the case, Simdega Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Arshi said.

The arrests were made after the mother of the girl lodged an FIR with the Kurdeg police station, alleging that her daughter was raped by her school teacher, the SP said. The incident happened on Jun 27 in a village under the Kurdeg police station limits, he said.

Arshi said the teacher, who absconded after the incident, also tried to stop the family through the local panchayat from filing the FIR.

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"Apart from the accused teacher, we have also arrested two others who held a village panchayat meeting to hide the incident. When the incident came to our notice that the victim's family was being prevented from visiting the police station by some influential people, our personnel encouraged the family to lodge an FIR," the SP said. All three accused have been sent to jail on Monday, he said.

A medical examination of the victim was conducted on July 7, another police official said. The teacher reportedly took the girl to a culvert in the village and committed the crime there, he said, adding that the accused and the minor reside in the same village.