Thirty-six Indian schoolgirls have been treated in hospital after they were attacked by a large crowd of teenage boys and their parents when they complained of sexual harassment.
Six boys and one woman were arrested in the north-eastern state of Bihar after the attack at a girls’ boarding school.
Police and witnesses said girls from the government school in Triveniganj – about 160 miles (260km) east of the state capital, Patna – had been playing in a sports area on Saturday night when a group of teenage boys began making lewd comments.
The girls argued back and some physically remonstrated with the teenage boys, who initially backed off.
Police say a group of the boys and some of their parents returned about 20 minutes later carrying bamboo sticks and iron rods.
“They dragged us by our ponytails, assaulted [us] with bamboo sticks and kicked and punched,” said Gudia, one of 36 girls who were treated in hospital after the attack.
“We were totally unarmed and had nothing to protect us. I saw many of my friends lying on the ground and crying with pain.”
The girls admitted to hospital were aged between 10 and 14.
Gudia said the young men were angry “because we had protested against their sexual advances”.
“They had been always teasing us and scribbling dirty words on the walls of our school,” she said, adding that she and other girls had tried to report the harassment to local government officials but were not taken seriously.
Police have arrested nine suspects.
“Of the first seven arrested, six are boys and one [is a] woman,” Mritunjay Chaudhary, a district superintendent, said.
Most of the injured children were discharged from hospital and returned to the school accommodation. A local official said many of the girls were shaken and feared further violence.
“Apparently, they are suffering from psychological fear, but we are arranging shows of good entertaining movies on the campus to calm down their tension and dispel any such fear from their minds,” said district magistrate Baidyanath Yadav on Monday.
“We are also counselling them so that they could get better soon.”
AFP
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