A 45-year-old man has been accused of raping a minor girl at her residential school in Turuvekere, Tumakuru district.

According to a report by Suvarna News, Rangayya raped the Class 3 student on November 17, but the incident came to light only recently.

15 children of the Soliga tribe are enrolled in the Hanumapura Ashrama School, which is a residential school (only Class 1-5) for tribal children.  

Turuvekere taluk Social Welfare Officer Rukmini HG told The News Minute that she was informed of the incident only on November 22, even though she had visited the school to distribute supplies two before before that. “The cook came and told me that they would sort out the matter within the community and that it should not go to the police. The accused is a relative of the girl,” she said.

Rukmini however, claims that when she and the District Social Welfare Officer spoke to the girls, none of them said that a child had been raped. “They told me that they raised an alarm when the man entered their sleeping quarters, awaking the caretaker who sleeps near the door. By the time she woke up, the man had gone. None of the girls said anything about a rape,” Rukmini claimed.

Asked about the accusation of rape, Rukmini claimed that the girl’s parents had told her to allege rape. On November 23, she said that the Soliga elders had called for a meeting and that the parents of the girl were not ready to accept the “compensation” offered by the community elders.  

Rukmini says she has lodged a complaint about the man gaining entry into the school with the Turuvekere police.