There is a ruckus in Malkangiri, Odisha, over a 10th class student becoming a mother. The student returned to the hostel after giving the 10th class examination and gave birth to a child prematurely. In this case, the police arrested a 22-year-old youth on Wednesday. It is alleged that this youth raped a 10th class student of a government residential school and made her pregnant. The youth has accepted the charges against him.

According to the police, the girl gave birth to a premature baby at her hostel after returning from her Class 10 board exams on Monday, following which both the mother and her newborn were admitted to the Malkangiri district headquarters hospital. A senior police officer said the youth, a neighbour of the girl, was arrested under Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Sections 64 (rape) and 65 (1) (rape of a girl under 16 years of age) of the Indian Penal Code.

The accused came to the police station and told the truth

The accused came to the police station and admitted to having sex with the girl, the official said. Taking the matter seriously, the Odisha government has suspended the headmaster as well as an assistant nurse and midwife and also removed the hostel matron, officials said. The school is run by the ST and SC Development, Minority and Backward Classes Welfare Department. The girl's parents on Tuesday asked school authorities how the pregnancy was concealed until labour pains started.

Congress took aim

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das said, "A Class 10 student from the tribal community lives in a hostel, she goes to take exams and gives birth to a child. This is a matter of shame for the state and the administration. People from the administration go every month, talk to the children in the school. It is their responsibility to visit the schools of tribal children. The governor has the authority related to tribal schools and communities. So the governor should review the upbringing of tribal children. There is a monitoring system. There is an SC ST committee in the assembly, which should visit the schools. In the BJP government, when a woman from a tribal community is the President and a tribal is our CM, we strongly condemn such negligence towards tribal children."