The advisor to the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chakraborti Chatterjee, said on Friday that the WBCPCR would recommend to the police to initiate a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against the headmaster of a Birbhum high school whose Class VII girl had been murdered.
The 13-year-old tribal girl’s mutilated body had been recovered from an irrigation canal near Rampurhat in Birbhum district on Tuesday night. The body was found 20 days after she had gone missing while on her way home from private tuition.
On Wednesday, police arrested Manoj Kumar Pal, a teacher at the high school where the girl studied.
The girl’s family has alleged that she was raped and murdered.
“I have spoken to the family of the victim, who used to be a topper in the school. They alleged that despite repeated complaints from the family and other guardians about the ill and abusive behaviour of the accused teacher, the headmaster did not take any action. The headmaster even allegedly threatened students with transfer certificates if they came forward with such complaints,” the advisor to the WBCPCR said on Friday.
“Non-reporting of allegations under the Pocso Act is a crime just as much as committing the offence itself. So, if it is true that he did not report the crime despite being aware of it, he will face the consequences,” she added.
However, the Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses, an association of school heads, claimed that the headmaster, Sandeep Saha, had nothing to do with the incident and that some people had been trying to harass him.
“We want capital punishment for the teacher who committed the heinous crime. But we know the headmaster is a gentleman. Some people who beat up headmaster Sandeep Saha on Thursday have been trying to trap him. We stand with the headmaster,” said Chandan Maiti, general secretary of the association.
On Thursday, villagers beat up Saha on charges of not taking action despite many students, including the victim, having complained against the arrested teacher.
The villagers blocked the Rampurhat-Dumka state highway from Thursday morning, demanding the recovery of the remaining body parts, and continued their protest for 30 hours. After repeated intervention by the police and administration, the blockade was finally withdrawn on Friday afternoon.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury visited the girl’s village and spoke to the residents on Friday.
The police said they were investigating the case very seriously and would appeal for a speedy trial.