Only boys are left in senior classes of Fateh Bahadur school as the girls have stopped coming.
Over 300 girls of Allahabad district's Fateh Bahadur school have not been attending school for over a week. Reason: Sexual harassment by local youths, some of whom, till recently, used to be their classmates.
Five of the nine youths involved were arrested. But now they are out on bail. Four, who were students and minors, have been expelled by the school. And while two policemen have been suspended for their tardy reaction to the matter, it is poor consolation for the senior girls, who are being forced to miss classes.
Some of them, students of Class X who are sit for their board exams next year, can barely afford it. But the alternative, they say, is worse. "They would catcall, follow us on way home. Many of us walk a long way to reach the school," said one of the girls. "The boys would even enter the classroom and harass us," said another.
"My parents asked me not to go to school as we can't say what might happen. We feel scared," said another girl.
The families of the accused, though, are brazen in their defiance. "It was a small thing, not like they raped someone. Why make a big deal?" said the father of one of the boys.
Some of the policemen, too, probably agreed. In fact, initially, they were not at all eager to register a First Information Report, said Principal Amarendra Pratap Singh. "Think about it, these are local boys,' they said. Only after three days, they registered the FIR," Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh had decided to go to the police the day the boys had followed the girls into the school. When the staff intervened, the boys had even threatened them, he said.
Admitting to lapses on part of the police, Allahabad Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar suspended two policemen involved and shunted out a third. "We have suspended two constables and have shifted out the Station House Officer," he said.
The policemen, he said, should have taken immediate action on the complaint.
Now that the boys are out on bail and the girls are still not back in school, the police are concerned. "We have to ensure the girls feel safe and come back to school," said Mr Kumar.