In a shocking incident, a Class IX student of a government-run residential school in Yadgir district gave birth to a baby boy in the school’s toilet on Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. and the girl (aged around 17) and the newborn were taken to the hospital for treatment later.
As per the complaint, the girl was allegedly subjected to sexual assault by an unknown person about 9 to 10 months ago. According to the FIR, the incident of child birth was not immediately reported by the school authorities, at the request of the victim’s brother, who was informed soon after the incident.
Deputy Commissioner Harshal Bhoyar, Superintendent of Police Pruthvik Shankar and Chief Executive Officer Lavish Ordia rushed to the hospital where the minor girl was admitted. Mr. Bhoyar told The Hindu that prima facie there were serious lapses on the part of the officers.
The Karnataka Residential Educational Institution Society (KREIS) has placed four employees of the residential school under suspension on charges of dereliction of duty and negligence in monitoring the student’s educational and health conditions. The suspended employees are Basamma, principal; Geetha, warden; Narasimhamurthy, science teacher; and Shridhar, physical education teacher. A departmental enquiry against them has been ordered.
The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) condemned the incident and urged legal action. Shashidhar Kosumbe, member of the Commission, said that a suo motu case would be registered.
Following the instructions by the KSCPCR, Nirmala Hombanna, District Child Protection Officer, has lodged a complaint with the jurisdictional police.
Talking with The Hindu, Channappa Anegundi, a social activist, questioned how those in responsible positions in the residential school did not monitor the well being of the girls. “Why didn’t they conduct frequent and necessary health checkups of the girl despite specific guidelines?” he demanded to know.
A case has been registered under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita, 2023, Sections 4, 6, and 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Sections 33 and 34 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2025.
