A case of sexual exploitation of girl students has come to light in Narena Ashram School of Surat district in Gujarat. On Monday, when the team of Tribal Development Department reached the school for inspection, the girl students told the women officials that the principal used to come to their room with a torch at night. He used to watch them bathing. He used to molest them on the pretext of giving medicine. The accused had formed many groups of five to six girl students, who also got different works of the ashram done. During this, he used to touch their private parts on one pretext or the other. He also used to kiss them. On the complaint of 35 girl students, the department has registered a case against Principal Yogesh Patel. Allegation of the girls – Principal used to molest on the pretext of giving medicine
The victim girls told that Yogesh Patel has kept many types of medicines in his room. If any girl student had cold or fever, he himself used to give them medicine. On the pretext of giving medicine, he used to call them to his room and molest them. There is no arrangement of fan-cooler in the ashram. Due to this, some girls were sleeping in less clothes in summer. The accused used to watch them with a torch from the window. Once the students also complained about this to the house mother. When the house mother asked the principal Yogesh Patel about this, he replied to her that the well-being of the girls is my responsibility. That is why I inspect them at night. Injury marks found on the private part of a student
After taking the statements of the students who were molested by the principal, the police is getting medical tests done of all 35 girls. So far, tests of 6 students have been done. Injury marks have also been found on the private part of a 13-year-old girl. The team of the women’s department is interrogating the girl. An officer of the tribal department said – the girls live here away from their families. Due to this, no one has dared to open their mouth against the accused till now. Now our team has instilled confidence in them. Due to this, the girls are openly telling their problems. Right now we are preparing a solid report of this. Soon the principal will be produced in the court and taken on remand. The department is also preparing to question the passed out girls of Narena Ashram School. There is no arrangement for bathing of the girls in the ashram. Project Officer Nidhi and Tribal Development Officer Anjuben said that there are a total of 177 students in Narena Ashram School, out of which 80 are girls. There was no arrangement for bathing of the girls inside the ashram where they used to stay. A temporary block for their bathing was made outside the ashram. Accused Yogesh Patel has been given a room to stay in the ashram school itself. This room has two doors, one on the front side and one on the back side of the room. A block for bathing of the girls was made at a distance of about 200 steps from the back door of the room. That is why whenever the girls went to bathe in the block, the principal used to watch them. The accused has been in the school for 21 years. Accused Yogesh Patel was appointed as a teacher here in 2003. He was made the principal in 2013. The old staff of the ashram has retired. The teachers here are only one or two years old. Two have joined only six months back. However, the rest of the staff of the ashram does not stay in the ashram. Only Yogesh Patel used to stay in the ashram. His family stays in Navsari, where he goes for one or two days every two to three months. In 2001, a rape case was registered against a teacher of this ashram.
This ashram school has come under controversy in 2001 also. A teacher of this ashram, Gambhir Singh, raped a 15-year-old student studying in 7th class here. The girl was not scared of any threat of the teacher. She told this to her mother and also registered an FIR against the accused on 10 January 2001. The accused ended up behind the bars of the jail.
