Raped in school, 8-year-old critical

Ramashankar, TT, Patna, May 9: An eight-year-old is battling for life after she was raped yesterday allegedly by a teacher in a CBSE-affiliated school that was inaugurated four days back in East Champaran district.

The child, a Class I student at APJ Abdul Kalam Model School, is in hospital and her condition is serious.

The teacher, Raj Kumar Choudhary, 18, was arrested today from his village Shankar Sanwaria, around 200km north of Patna.

The child's father lodged an FIR yesterday, alleging Raj first assaulted her for not completing her homework and then raped her in a room allotted to the school's security guards, said Turkaulia police station house officer (SHO) Dharmendra Kumar.

\According to the FIR, a few school employees contacted a local doctor and provided the child first aid and informed the family when her condition deteriorated.

The father told the police that her uniform had bloodstains. "She was writhing in pain. The medical report has confirmed rape," the father said, crying.

"I am shocked," said Mohammad Kalam, 50, proprietor of the school that has around 100 students up to Class VI, adding that he would seek a detailed probe.

The SHO said the role of other school staff would be investigated: "Initially, they tried to suppress the matter."

The incident sent shockwaves among parents. "I have stopped sending my child to the school," said a parent.