Scores of schoolgirls in India were allegedly abused earlier this month as they were forced to strip in front of other schoolfellows at a girls' school in India's Arunachal Pradesh state, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.
Around 88 students studying in class VI and VII were subjected to the worst humiliation as a punishment for allegedly writing vulgar remarks against the head teacher.
According to Hindustan Times, it was assumed that the remarks were written by an unidentified student and that she was present among those students who were forced to strip in front of other schoolfellows.
The news report further added that three teachers of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Tani Happa (New Sagalee) in Papum Pare district forced the girls to undress on November 23.
Police officials said that the matter came to light four days later when a student body approached the police and filed a First Information Report in this regard, it added.
The complaint alleged that two assistant teachers and a junior teacher subjected the students to humiliation after the teachers recovered a piece of paper with vulgar remarks on it about the head teacher and a girl student.
Tumme Amo, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the FIR and said that the case had been forwarded to the women police station. “The officer-in-charge of the [women] police station said the victims and their parents along with the teachers will be interrogated before registering a case,” Amo said.
All Papum Pare District Students Union (APPDSU) said in a press release that a team of the union had met the students and teachers on Tuesday, and found that an unidentified student had used vulgar words in a piece of paper mentioning the name of the head teacher and a student.
Subsequently, the teachers demanded an explanation from all the students of the two classes and later made them undress, it added.
“The school authorities did not speak to the parents of the students before punishing them,” APPDSU president Nabam Tado was quoted as saying.