Jaipur:

A private school principal and father of a 14-year-old rape survivor have been arrested for allegedly tampering with the birth records of the girl to help the accused secure bail, police said on Sunday. The principal was arrested from Deoria on Thursday while the girl’s father was caught from Behror in Rajasthan on Saturday night, Station House Officer (SHO) of Murlipura Police Station Sunil Kumar Jangir said.

The girl had lodged an FIR in July alleging that her aunt had sold her to one Sandeep Yadav, a resident of Haryana, for Rs two lakh and that she was subsequently raped.

The case was registered under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act and after investigation, her aunt, Sandeep Yadav, and his father Satveer Yadav were arrested and sent to judicial custody.

In the meanwhile, the girl’s father Sanjay allegedly contacted a private school in Uttar Pradesh to obtain a false record to claim that the girl was an adult and not a minor.

“The school principal Prannath Mal tampered with the school register and gave a false birth record. The document falsely stated that the girl’s birth year was 2003. We found the birth year had been changed from 2010 to 2003, thus making her 21-year-old,” he said.

The SHO said after the girl registered an FIR, police had obtained her record in which she is a minor. When the second document came up, police suspected it to be false and registered a separate case and a team was sent to Uttar Pradesh for verification.

“The team found that tampering was done in the school register. The register was seized and the principal was arrested. During interrogation, he said the girl’s father had approached him to seek a false record. After this, the girl’s father was also arrested on Saturday night,” he said.

The SHO said the principal and the girl’s father have been arrested in the second case related to tampering with documents.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pratapgarh (Rajasthan):

Rajasthan police have constituted a special investigation team to probe the death of two minor girls who died allegedly by suicide after consuming poison on Saturday.

According to the police, in a complaint filed by the girl’s father, two minor girls were studying and staying in Peepal Khoont in a hostel and alleged that they were harassed by three teenagers, including a minor.

The three accused have been detained by the police.

S Parimala, IG Police, Banswara told ANI “We received info in Ghantali police station that two minor girls have consumed poison. The girls who consumed poison were referred to a hospital where they were declared dead. Their relatives reported that these two minor girls were studying in Peepal Khoont and alleged that they were harassed by a minor boy, and two of his friends, who have been detained. A special investigation team has been constituted to probe the incident.”

BJP’s Rajasthan chief and leader of opposition in the state, Rajendra Rathore targeted Ashok Gehlot’s government on the incident and said that the incident is also a question mark on the poor law and order system of the state.

“Atrocities against women and daughters are at their peak under the jungle raj of Congress. The incident of suicide by two schoolgirls troubled by teasing in Pipalkhunt of Pratapgarh district is shameful to humanity. This incident is also a question mark on the poor law and order system of the state. This is not the first case under the rule of @ashokgehlot51 ji who has failed as the head of the Home Department,” Rajendra Rathore said on X.