Autistic brothers assaulted, burnt with cigarettes at Dehradun boarding school

According to a police report filed by their mother, two autistic brothers, aged nine and 13, were sexually abused and endured extreme physical and psychological torment at an unlicensed boarding school in Dehradun.

A 29-year-old hostel supervisor has been apprehended in relation to the incident, and a case has been registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. After her husband’s passing, the mother had recently enrolled her sons, struggling to balance her job and the care of her autistic children. She discovered the school, Pencil Box, by doing an online search.

The mistreatment was revealed during a recent trip to the school, where the children told her that the caretaker would strike them with an iron rod, burn them with cigarette butts, and sexually assault them.  The mother then lodged a complaint with the school administration, resulting in the arrest of the alleged hostel caretaker, Sonu.

The state Child Rights Commission intervened in the issue, conversing with the children to gather information, and stated that the special school was functioning without the necessary permits.

“A woman was running a special school for persons with disabilities, and first of all, it did not have the necessary permissions to operate such a facility. Recently, they hired the accused, Sonu, but his police verification was not done, and we could not find any appointment letters,” said Commission chairperson Geeta Khanna.

The sexual harassment allegations uncovered other irregularities, leading to the closure of the illegally run boarding school . Police have also seized CCTV recordings from the premises.