Another Ashram girl turns mother, HM out

Koraput: Case after case of minor tribal girls staying in Ashram schools falling victim to sexual abuse and becoming mothers are coming to the fore in the district. Even as people are yet to recover from the Umuri case, another case of a Class-VIII girl of Kandulabeda Sebashram School giving birth to a baby has sent ripples across the State.

Taking cognizance of the news, the district administration has placed the headmaster of the school under suspension for dereliction of duty while the hostel warden has been served a show-cause notice over the development.

According to sources, the girl gave birth to a baby boy but the infant died soon after delivery. The girl and baby were then rushed to Baipariguda Community Health Centre. But when her condition started deteriorating, she was later shifted to Jeypore Sub-Divisional Hospital.

The doctor attending to the girl said, “The infant died after delivery, but the condition of the mother is now stable. She will be discharged from hospital after 2-3 days.”

Meanwhile, the kin of the victim has lodged an FIR in Baipariguda police station over the issue and the police have launched an investigation into the matter.

However, when asked, the school administration sought to defend itself saying the girl has not been coming to the Sebashram since last December.

In the Umuri incident too, a Class-VI student of a tribal welfare school there in Jeypore block had delivered a baby boy on February 8.