Buldhana rape case: Four more people arrested by Maharashtra Police

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Police have arrested four more people in connection with alleged rape of two minor girls at a government-aided tribal residential school in Buldhana district.

15 people have been arrested so far in the shameful case.

The Police yesterday arrested the main accused who is a 23-year-old school employee, the headmaster, staff and members of the school management, last night.

District Guardian Minister Pandurang Phundkar, who is camping in his constituency (Khamgaon) to monitor the progress of the investigations, said that so far two girls have came forward with complaints of alleged abuse.

Reports say that many more girls could have been sexually exploited by the school authorities.

A Special Investigating Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case as police suspect that more children could have been sexually exploited.

Acting swiftly, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken cognizance of the reported incident of rape and asked the District Magistrate to investigate and submit a detailed report within a week.

Maharashtra has more than 1,000 residential schools called ashram shalas which are run either directly by the state government or by trusts supported by the state government through grant in aid. Around 4.45 lakh students are studying these schools, out of which 1.99 lakh are girls.