On the way to school, principal tried to sexually harass the girl, police said (Representational)
The principal of a government-run primary school in Gujarat's Dahod district was arrested for allegedly killing a six-year-old girl student after she resisted his attempt to sexually molest her, police said on Sunday.
Police launched a probe after the child's body was found inside the school compound in a village of Singvad taluka on Thursday, an official said.
The school principal, Govind Nat, smothered the girl after she fended off his attempt to sexually molest her, said Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala.
"Around 10.20 am on Thursday, the principal, who was passing by in his car, agreed to take the child to school in the vehicle at her mother's request. Students and teachers told police that the girl did not attend school that day," Mr Zala told mediapersons.
When questioned, the principal initially insisted that he had dropped her at the school after picking her up in his car, the police officer said. Later, he confessed before the police to killing the girl, he said.
On the way to their school, the principal tried to sexually molest the girl. When she resisted, he covered her mouth and nose to stop her from screaming, thereby making her unconscious, Mr Zala said.
"The principal reached the school and parked his car with the girl's body inside. At 5 pm, he took out the body and dumped it behind the school building. He then planted her school bag and slippers in her classroom," Zala said.
Technical analysis and the time when he left the school in the evening made him the prime suspect, and he confessed to the crime after interrogation, he said.
A day after the girl's body was found, her post-mortem report revealed that she died from smothering, Zala said.
When the child did not return home after school hours, her parents and relatives launched a search and found her lying unconscious in the compound behind the school building.
The child was taken to the Limkheda Civil Hospital, where doctors declared her dead, he added.
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