Two teachers in Unnao school held for gangrape

Rao Jaswant Singh Posted: Jan 18, 2008 at 2314 hrs
Unnao, January 17 A 16-year-old schoolgirl of Adarsh Inter College in Unnao district's Hadha locality was allegedly gangraped by three of her teachers. They had threatened to fail her in all subjects if she did not cooperate.

The police have registered a case against all three and have detained two of them. The third is absconding since the incident came to light on Wednesday.

According to the police report, geography teacher Umesh Chandra approached Rani (name changed), a student of eleventh standard, on January 12.

"He (Chandra) asked the girl to reach his residence in Hadha road locality, where Social Science teacher Vinay Verma and English teacher Rambabu Kushwaha were already present," father of the victim told The Indian Express. After raping her, they warned Rani of dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident.

When Rani failed to reach home in time, her family began a search and found her in an inconsolable state near Achalganj police station. "Though we came to know about the incident the same day, we were in a dilemma on whether to report the matter to police," Rani's father said.

On Wednesday, when the school reopened after a three-day holiday, Rani reportedly discussed the matter with her friends.The news spread and the angry students ended up thrashing the three teachers inside the school premises.

The police were called in and Chandra and Verma were arrested. Kushwaha managed to escape.

The parents' association has demanded the strictest possible action against the accused, including immediate termination of their service.

On his part, Chandra claimed he was innocent and the whole matter was cooked up by rival teachers.

In view of the prevailing tension, the school has been closed for an indefinite period and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) has been deployed in the area.