Jharkhand woman accuses missionary school principal of rape, abortion pills; FIR filed

Police in Jharkhand's Godda district have registered a case against the principal of a private missionary school for allegedly raping and sexually exploiting a tribal woman who worked in his kitchen. The accused is absconding and police are conducting raids to trace him.

The FIR was lodged on Sunday at Sunderpahari police station under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), on the basis of the woman's statement.

The accused has been named as Thomas Soren, 32.

Sunderpahari police station officer-in-charge Vidhanchandra Patel told media that the complainant is a 40-year-old woman who worked as a cook for the principal.

Her husband was also employed at the school, where he cooked for the students.

According to the police, the woman was sexually exploited over a period of four to five months. She allegedly became pregnant during this time, and the accused is said to have given her abortion pills.

Her health deteriorated after she took them, and she had to be admitted to a hospital.

Another police officer said the accused had threatened the woman not to tell anyone about the incident.

If she did, he allegedly warned, he would expel her child from the school and remove both her and her husband from their jobs.

The woman was sent to a government hospital for a medical examination on Monday.

Police have begun a detailed investigation.

Local reports say the matter came to light after the woman told her husband what had happened.

The couple then approached Mamta Kumari, a former member of the women's commission, who took up the case and raised it with police.

Kumari has reportedly asked the Godda Superintendent of Police to ensure a fair investigation and justice for the woman.