Nari Niketan Inmate Raped

Karnal, January 30

A hapless hearing and speech impaired inmate of the local Nari Niketan was allegedly raped by the chowkidar of a school for hearing impaired where she had gone to study.

Sources said the victim was molested and subjected to sexual assault seven months ago and had to go in for an abortion. However, the molestation continued even after her abortion.

The Nari Niketan authorities have no explanation as to why the matter was not reported to the police.

The girl, an orphan, was brought to the Nari Nikaten, Karnal, from Bahadurgarh in 2006. She was living under fear following the alleged sexual assault. She finally ran out of patience and told her fellow inmates about the incident in sign language following which the matter was reported to the police yesterday.

The police registered a case under Section 376 of the IPC against the chowkidar and some unidentified persons. The victim was sent to the Trauma Centre for medical examination. The police has rounded up one of the attendants of Mata Prakash Kaur Vani Viklang Kendra and the chowkidar, Ajay.

Rakesh Arya, SP, Karnal, said the case had been registered against Ajay and some unidentified persons at the Civil Lines police station. He said the chowkidar had been rounded up. “We are investigating the case to find out the role of the attendants at the school for the hearing and speech impaired. The Nari Nikaten has also come under the scanner,” he added.

The Nari Niketan has been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past as well. On May 10 last year, a 17-year-old inmate had escaped from the Nari Niketan and the authorities had no explanation for it.

Around three years ago, inmates of the Nari Niketan had gone on the rampage and had levelled serious allegations of maltreatment. Later, a team of the human rights commission also visited the institution.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Dr Raj Kumar Virka, who was in Karnal, visited the Nari Niketan and the Civil Lines police station to know the details of the incident. He ordered a high-level probe into the incident by a joint team of senior health officials, police officers and members of the Social Welfare Department.