Uttar Pradesh:School denies admission to gang-raped Dalit girl

A 14-year-old Dalit gang-rape victim was denied admission by a village school in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh on the grounds of social stigma.

Acting on media reports, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, asking for a report in four weeks, detailing the action taken against the accused under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including steps to protect the girl’s family and provide monetary relief.

News reports said the culprits sexually assaulted the girl and made an MMS of the incident, circulating it in the market. When her parents, while trying to help her overcome the trauma and start afresh, approached the school for admission, the management refused to take her in, arguing that the parents of the remaining students had threatened to withdraw their wards if she was admitted.