DAHOD: The investigation into the death of a six-year-old girl in Dahod, Gujarat, has uncovered disturbing revelations.
The girl, a class one student was smothered to death by her school principal for she resisted his attempt to sexually molest her, the police found. He then dumped the girl's body in the school compound and allegedly planted her bag and shoes in her classroom.
The matter came to light when the body of the girl was found inside the campus.
Senior police officer Rajdeep Singh Jhala said that the post-mortem revealed that she was suffocated to death. During the investigation, the girls' mother told the police that she went to school with the principal, Govind Natt, every day.
When the police spoke to him, the principal Natt said he had dropped off the girl at the school and left for some work.
Unconvinced cops, examined his phone location details on the day of the incident and it was found that he reached school late that day. Furthermore grilling led him to confess the crime.
Jhala said, " He picked up the girl from her house around 10 a.m. Her mother saw her off. But she never reached the school. On the way to school, the principal tried to sexually assault her. When she resisted, he covered her mouth and nose to stop her from screaming, thereby making her unconscious,"
On reaching the school, the principal left the girl's body in his car and locked the vehicle. "In the evening after school hours, he dumped the body behind the school building and planted her school bag and shoes inside her classroom," Jhala said.
Technical analysis and the time when he left the school in the evening made him the prime suspect, the police said.
Police said he faces stringent charges under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
State Education Minister Kuber Dindor said it was a shameful incident for the society. "I am pained by this. We were following this up for three days. We had told police to get to the bottom of this. The principal has been arrested. I condemn this incident and we will take steps to ensure such crimes are not repeated."
On the other hand, a day after the arrest of Govind Natt, the opposition Congress party released several photographs highlighting his close ties to the ruling government.
The images, shared by a Congress spokesperson, depict Natt alongside a former Gujarat minister and participating in workshops for the RSS and VHP. One notable photo shows him in an RSS uniform.
