The investigation into the death of a six-year-old girl in Gujarat’s Dahod district, India, has led to a chilling revelation.
The Class I student was choked to d3ath, allegedly by her school’s principal after she resisted his attempts to s3xually assault her. He then dumped her body in the school’s compound and her bag and shoes near the classroom. Police have arrested the accused, 55-year-old Govind Natt.
Senior police officer Rajdeep Singh Jhala reported that the body of the six-year-old girl was discovered on the school premises on the evening of Thursday, September 19, causing widespread panic in the area. A post-mortem confirmed that she had died from suffocation.
Police registered a case and assembled 10 teams to investigate the incident.
The girl’s mother informed the police that the principal, Govind Natt, took her to school every day. When questioned, Natt claimed he had dropped the girl off and left for work, but the police were suspicious.
Upon reviewing Natt’s phone location data, it was revealed that he arrived at the school later than he had claimed. Under further questioning, he confessed to the horrific crime.
“He picked up the girl from her home at around 10.20 am. Her mother helped her get into the principal’s car and saw her off. But she never reached the school. The school’s students and teachers confirmed this. On the way to school, the principal tried to s*xually assault her, and she started shouting,” the senior officer said, adding that the principal choked the girl to stop her from shouting.
On reaching the school, the principal left the girl’s body in his car and locked the vehicle.
“Around 5 pm, he dumps the body behind the school building and plants her school bag and shoes outside her classroom. He denied this initially, but we suspected him after the technical analysis,” Mr Jhala said.
Govind Natt, police have said, 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.”
