Nabarangpur (Orissa): A Congress
delegation, at the instruction of party president Sonia
Gandhi, on Saturday visited a state-run residential school in
Nawarangpur district where tribal girl students were allegedly
sexually abused by teachers.
Members of the delegation led by AICC Secretary Jaydev
Jena which met the victims, their parents, teachers and
government officials among others said they visited the school
at the "instruction of party president Sonia Gandhi".
"We are likely to submit our report to Soniaji and
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday," Jena told agency over
phone after the delegation visited the Bada Ambada Sevashram
school in the district.
The matter came to light when a lady teacher made a
written complaint to the district administration on March 2.
The issue was also raised in the state assembly.
"We are shocked and surprised how the government could
not know about sexual exploitation of hapless tribal girls at
hostels run by the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste
Development Department," Jena said.
One of the victims told the delegation, which included
state Youth Congress president and local MP Pradip Majhi, that
they were taken to Jagdalpur in Chhatishgarh and
Vishakhapatanam in Andhra Pradesh for "termination of their
pregnancies", he said.
Holding the Naveen Patnaik government responsible,
Jena alleged that girl residents of the hostels, were not only
abused by their teachers and staff, but also sent to other
places. "A well-oiled racket behind sexual exploitation of
tribal girls is clearly visible."
The Congress delegation claimed that though the matter
was brought to the notice of the District Welfare Officer and
Welfare Extension Officer earlier, no action was taken to save
the girls from "exploitation".
Meanwhile, ST & SC Development Minister Bijay Ranjan
Singh Bariha said four persons including the headmaster of the
sevashram school, run by the Tribal Welfare Department at Bada
Ambada village, were sent to jail.
A case has been registered under section 376 and
506 of the IPC against them, he said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, March 13, 2010, 18:06