
The principal of a government primary school in the Indian state ofGujarat’s Dahod district was arrested for allegedly killing his student, a six-year-old girl after she resisted his attempt to sexually molest her, police said on Sunday (Sep 22).
The girl’s body was found inside the school premises in a village of Singvad taluka on Thursday (Sep 19), the official said.
As per Superintendent of Police, Rajdeepsinh Zala, the school principal, Govind Nat, smothered the girl after she fended off his attempt to sexually molest her.
"Around 10:20 am on Thursday, the principal, who was passing by in his car, agreed to take the child to school in the vehicle at her mother's request. Students and teachers told police that the girl did not attend school that day," police told local media.
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Initially, the principal insisted that he had dropped her at the school after picking her up in his car, the police official said. Upon further questioning, the principal confessed before the police that he had killed the girl.
The molester narrated the incident and said that he tried to sexually molest the girl on their way to school. When she resisted, he covered her mouth and nose to stop her from screaming, which made the girl unconscious, Zala said.
"The principal reached the school and parked his car with the girl's body inside. At 5 pm, he took out the body and dumped it behind the school building. He then planted her school bag and slippers in her classroom," Zala added.
Meanwhile, the police said the technical analysis and the time when the principal left the school in the evening made him the prime suspect, and he confessed to the crime after interrogation.
A day after the girl's body was found, her post-mortem report revealed that she died from smothering, the SPsaid.
When the child did not return home after school hours, her parents and relatives launched a search and found her lying unconscious in the compound behind the school building. The child was taken to the Limkheda Civil Hospital, where doctors declared her dead, he added.
(With inputs from agencies)