Arunachal hostel warden gets death penalty for sexual assault of 21 students
Guwahati: A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday awarded the death penalty to a hostel warden convicted of sexually assaulting 21 students at a government-run residential school.
The incident took place at a government residential school at Karo village in Monigong of Shi Yomi district between 2019 and 2022.
The case came to light in November 2022 when a parent lodged a complaint at the Monigong police station in Shi Yomi district accusing the hostel warden of rape.
Special Judge Jaweplu Chai sentenced warden Yumken Bagra to death, making it the first death sentence in India for an accused under the POCSO Act for aggravated penetrative sexual assault of victims who did not die.
Former headmaster Singtung Yorpen and Hindi teacher Marbom Ngomdir were also sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for abetment of the offense and failing to report it.
"We are happy with the verdict as the court heard our pleas for stringent and exemplary punishment," said Oyam Bingepp, who represented the 21 children before the POCSO special court.
Two other accused, Tajung Yorpen, another teacher in the same school, and Daniel Pertin, an acquaintance of the hostel warden, were acquitted due to lack of evidence or hostile witnesses.
The special investigation team (SIT) that probed the case found that Bagra sexually assaulted at least 21 minors, including six boys aged 6-14 years, during his tenure as hostel warden. The SIT said six of Bagra’s victims had unsuccessfully attempted to die by suicide.
Bagra was convicted under sections 328, 292 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 6, 10 and 12 of the POCSO Act while Ngomdir was convicted under Section 506 of the IPC and sections 17 and 21(1) of the POCSO Act. Yorpen was convicted under sections 17 and 21(2) of the POCSO Act.