Paralakhemundi: At least 64 girl students of a government run residential school, fled the hostel after failing to bear the torture inflicted upon them by the matron Sunday night, a report said.
The incident was reported from Mohana-based Government High School in Gajapati district.
On learning the incident, the administration and police officials rescued the girls and brought them back safely from a forest. The girls had walked almost 3km from the hostel in a bid to board a bus and reach their respective homes.
According to sources, some girls of Christian community had been to the school to take part in the Saraswati Puja celebration along with the hostel inmates. After the celebrations, the girls left for their homes. However, the matron Ranjita Sualsingh was against the Christian girls’ participation in the celebrations.
She called eight inmates and beat them up for allowing the Christian girls to take part in the puja.
The girls brought the matter to the notice of the school authorities, but to no avail. Irate over the indifference of the school authorities and fearing further torture by the matron, the girls wrote a complaint on a leaf and stuck it on the school’s wall before fleeing.
Some guardians came to know of the incident and gheraoed the hostel. They demanded an explanation from the matron and stage a demonstration for four hours on the main road near the school.
Mohana IIC Prasant Kumar Behera, district welfare officer Pradyumna Kumar Dash, tehsildar Seemanchal Mandal and BDO Padmanav Behera reached the spot and brought the situation under control.
Action will be taken against the matron after an inquiry, the officials said.
According to reports, a night watchman of the hostel was suspended for dereliction of duty. PNN