Girls forced to strip at school in Maha; two held

The principal and an attendant of a private school at Shahapur in Thane district have been arrested while six others have been booked under charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, after girls from classes 5 to 10 were made to strip and subjected to examination without consent or medical supervision to check if they were menstruating, police officials said.

- Anamika Gharat

The incident took place on Tuesday morning after the staff at the school allegedly found bloodstains in the school's washroom. On Wednesday, irate parents and child rights activists reached the school and demanded action against the management and the teachers involved.

According to a complaint lodged by the parents of one of students, the school principal summoned the girls to the convention hall of the school where they were showed the photos of blood stains on the walls and floor of the washroom by screening them through a projector. The girls were asked if anybody from them was menstruating, the complaint said.