Odisha: Another student of govt residential school found pregnant

A minor tribal girl, studying in a state-run residential school in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, has been found pregnant, police said on Saturday. The pregnancy of the Class 9 student was detected during a routine health check-up on Friday, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Udala, S R Mohapatra said.

A complaint was lodged by the school headmaster the same day. A case had been registered and probe into the matter is on, he said. The tribal girl has been admitted to a hospital in Baripada, where tests confirmed her pregnancy, the police said.

In her statement to police, the minor girl named a youth with whom she had physical relation, the SDPO said. The youth, who hails from a nearby village, is missing and efforts are on to locate him, Mohapatra said.

The incident comes to light days after a Class 6 student of a government residential school in the district was found to be carrying a six-month-old foetus. A teenage boy of the school was apprehended and sent to a juvenile home on Friday after the girl accused him of raping her.

Incidents of sexual abuse of minor girls in state-run residential schools have been reported from different districts of the state in the recent past. Three minor girls, including two inmates of state-run residential schools, were found pregnant in Dhenkanal, Kalahandi and Jajpur districts last month.

A 14-year-old student of a residential government school had delivered a baby in Kandhamal district last month.