SHOCKING! Bloodstains found in toilet; girl students made to strip in Thane school for period check

Police have arrested the principal and an attendant of a private school in Maharashtra's Thane where girl students were allegedly made to strip to check if they were menstruating.

The incident occurred at the school in Shahapur area of Thane district on Tuesday after bloodstains were found in its toilet, the police said.

On Wednesday, parents protested at the school premises, demanding strict punishment against the authorities.

The police on Wednesday night arrested the school's principal, and a woman attendant who allegedly stripped the students and checked their private parts for menstruation, a police official said.

As per the complaint lodged by a parent of one of the students, the girls from classes 5 to 10 were called to the school's convention hall and shown photos from the toilet on a projector, including that of a hand stain.

The students were asked to raise their hands if having their period. The girls were then divided into two groups. All those who said they were menstruating were asked to give their hand prints to a teacher. But those girls who said they were not menstruating, were taken to the toilet one by one with a woman attendant and forced to strip and went through an inspection, the complaint said.

The police said, based on the complaint, a case was registered on Wednesday against the school's principal, four teachers, the attendant and two trustees.

The case was registered against 8 persons under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 76 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The police were probing the entire incident.