Headmaster suspended for suppressing student's pregnancy in Odisha

A headmaster of government- run school was suspended and a hostel warden served notice for allegedly suppressing the matter of a pregnant tribal student delivering at a hospital from the district administration here.

Koraput: A headmaster of government- run school was suspended and a hostel warden served notice for allegedly suppressing the matter of a pregnant tribal student delivering at a hospital from the district administration here.

Reports of an eighth-grade girl of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) delivering baby at a district hospital surfaced on January 24.

According to an FIR registered by the girl's parents last week, she was in relationship with a boy.

The district officials claim that they came to know about delivery on Saturday. The headmaster and warden allegedly knew about her pregnancy and hid the matter from the district administration officials.

"The headmaster, Bibhuti Satapathy, has been suspended for negligence in duty. Necessary action will be taken against the hostel warden, Ranu Behera, after we get the reply of the show cause notice issued to her," Koraput District Collector Yamini Sarangi said.

Both the school officials allegedly allowed the girl's parents to shift her to the district hospital here.

Meanwhile, the boy had been arrested on Saturday and he is being interrogated, a senior district police officer said today.

Situated at the district headquarters town here, the KGBV has classes from VI to VIII and is being managed by the school and mass education department.

"The school authorities came to know about the pregnancy of the girl and that she had delivered a baby girl at the district headquarters hospital after being admitted there on fake name on January 24," another district administration official said.

"They allowed her family to take her home afterwards and didn't inform the administration," he said.

The incident was preceded by a similar case where another 15-year-old tribal girl at Gupteswar Sevashram (residential school for SC and ST students) at Kandulbeda under Boipariguda police limits here delivered a baby on Thursday night.

Earlier, a 12 year-old class VI tribal girl of Umuri Sevashram (residential school for SC and ST students) had delivered a child on February 4 in the hostel.

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