Dalit family in MP forced to live in toilet

Gorakhpur, Feb 16: Two unidentified policemen allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman in a hotel room near a railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur.

The incident took place on Thursday after which the woman informed her family members. The FIR was registered in the matter on Friday, police said.

A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including gang rape has been registered against two unidentified police men at the Gorakhnath police station, they said.

No arrests have been made so far in this connection, the police added.

Members of various political parties including Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP and Purvanchal Sena staged a sit-in demonstration at the office of the district magistrate (DM) demanding suspension of all staff members of the Gorakhnath police station as well as a magisterial probe into the matter.

"The girl is undergoing treatment at the district hospital. She has made serious allegation of rape by two policemen. During investigation we found that the hotel has CCTV footage and also took the statement of guard," SSP Gorakhpur, Sunil Kumar Gupta said.

"Prima facie, the woman went to the hotel room willingly with some men. However, a probe is underway and culprits won't be spared," he said.

The woman told media that both the policemen thrashed her and accused her of being involved in prostitution.

She claimed that she requested them to leave her but they beat her and raped her. Later, they asked her to go home in an autorickshaw.

The survivor also told media and investigating policemen that she will be able to identify the hotel room where the crime took place as well as the two policemen who allegedly raped her.

The woman said she runs coaching classes at her home and her father is a labourer.

The West Bengal government has suspended two women teachers in East Burdwan district on the charge of teaching pre-primary students from an English alphabet book consisting of a portion derogatory to the people with a dark complexion.

While presenting the alphabets with corresponding words and images, the book says U is for "Ugly". The illustration printed beside the letter is that of a boy with a dark complexion.

"The book is not part of the textbooks referred by the education department. It was introduced by the school itself. We have zero-tolerance for acts which instil prejudices into the minds of students," Education Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters here on Thursday.

He said the two teachers of a local municipality-run school have been placed under suspension with immediate effect based on a preliminary investigation and stricter action would be taken against them later.

Though the school is now closed because of the lockdown, the matter came to light when the father of a student of the school was teaching him with the help of that book. He informed other parents and the education department was apprised of the issue, sources said.

Kozhikode, Jun 26: A man, who had returned from Bahrain on Thursday and has been under quarantine at his house in Villyapallai near here, has been stabbed on his arm by an unidentified person.

Police sources said the assailant, with a masked face, had ransacked the man's house by break-opening the door at midnight lat night and stabbed Lijeesh on his arm and fled from the scene.

The nearby residents took Lijeesh to a nearby hospital and was put back on quarantine.