Last week two primary school teachers in Andhra’s West Godavari district, were accused of allegedly asking two minor students to enact sexual intercourse. The District Education Officer has since given a clean-chit after conducting an investigation.
Several news channels and publications carried the news that the two teachers forced a Class IV male student and a Class I female student to pretend to be husband and wife and “do as their parents do”. The reports claimed that in this incident, the girl was injured. They further reported that learning about the incident, the teachers were roughed up by the villagers, and later asked to pay Rs 80,000 each as penalty. Taking cognizance of the incident, the State Human Rights Commission asked for an inquiry into the incident.
However, an inquiry conducted by the District Education Officer, CV Renuka on Saturday found that the news was fake, and a ‘deliberate’ campaign to defame both the teachers.
Speaking to TNM, the DEO said, “There’s absolutely no truth to the claims that several news outlets have carried. Firstly, the male student is in class 3, not class 4 as reported. We have conducted a thorough inquiry into the incident. We spoke to the children without the teachers (being present) so that the students don’t feel intimidated. However, they said that nothing of that sort had happened. By explaining about good touch and bad touch, we asked them if the teachers did anything as being reported, but the students denied.”
The DEO further added, “We even spoke to the girl’s mother, she too expressed shock at the incident. She is extremely worried about their family as her daughter has been dragged into this issue.”
According to the DEO, on July 29, during the lunch hour, the two students had quarreled over a pencil. Apparently, the boy had snatched the girl’s pencil, after which they fought. “The very next day, the girl’s mother had come to the school and complained against the boy’s behaviour to the teachers. This is what happened. We are not sure how this trivial issue got blown into a rape incident,” the DEO said.
“No one was roughed up and nobody paid any fine. The entire news is fictitious. It seems like it is a deliberate campaign by some journalist who wanted to tarnish the image of the teachers,” she said.
The DEO also said that the girl is not injured as reported.
“The teachers were extremely upset with the incident. We asked if they wanted a transfer, however, they wanted to continue there itself. Later we took an undertaking of ‘no objection’ from the parents and the village elders. They too did not object to the continuation of their services. I would soon file this report to the District Collector and State Human Rights Commission.”
Chintalapudi Inspector also said that it was a fake news. However, no case was registered in this regard. “We haven’t received any complaint - either from the education officer or the teachers.”
“We don’t know who spread the false news first, so we don’t know whom to file the case against,” the DEO said.