ITANAGAR, 20 Jul: The Gauhati High Court has taken up suo moto the case of sexual abuse of 21 students by Yumken Bagra, a warden of the government residential school in Karo village in Shi-Yomi district, between 2019 and 2022.
The accused is out on bail, granted by the special court in Yupia.
“The hearing is fixed on 21 July,” SIT SP Rohit Rajbir Singh informed.
The state was left shaken after horrific details of the abuse were made public by the SIT in a press conference on Wednesday.
Twenty-one children – 15 girls and six boys, aged 6 to 12 years (Class 1-5) – were sexually assaulted and molested by Bagra.
Based on an FIR lodged in November 2022 by a father of two girl children, stating that his daughters were sexually assaulted by the warden, the Monigong police had registered the case, and transferred it to the SIT of the vigilance department.
The SIT investigation found that there were six cases of rape, nine cases of molestation, and six cases of sexual harassment.
The accused has been chargesheeted for aggravated penetrated assault/molestation, and booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and under Sections 6, 8, 10, 12, and 376 A, B and C of the Indian Penal Code.
APWWS seeks answer from govt
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) has asked the state government how it intends to take up the case.
“The heart-wrenching sexual and physical assaults at the residential school in Karo should force the government of Arunachal to rethink its approach for a better and secure future for our children. We believe that justice will be delivered to the victims and their family members.
“At the same time, we would like to know how the government is going to take up this case,” the APWWS said in a statement.
“Nobody wants their children to undergo such sufferings,” APWWS president Kani Nada Maling said, adding that “the psychological damage that has been inflicted on the students by their own trusted warden will have long-lasting impacts.”
The society expressed appreciation for the SIT for chargesheeting the accused, and expressed hope that the SIT would make a strong case, so that accused Yumken Bagra is brought to justice.
The Mechukha unit of the APWWS, which has been following the case from day one, will continue to extend its support to the survivors and their families, the APWWS said.
