Death for former Arunachal school hostel warden for sexually assaulting 21 children

A Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Arunachal Pradesh handed the death sentence to the former warden of a government residential school for sexually assaulting 21 children, including 15 girls, in Shi-Yomi district between 2019 and 2022.

Bagra’s co-convicts in the case, former headmaster Singtung Yorpen and Hindi teacher Marbom Ngomdir Tapir, were each handed 20-year jail terms. Two other accused, Daniel Pertin and Tajung Yorpen, were acquitted. According to reports, the children—15 girls and six boys, aged 6 to 12 years, and from Classes 1-5—were sexually assaulted and molested by Bagra and others.

The investigation was initially led by the police teams of Shi-Yomi and West Siang districts, and later taken over by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Arunachal Pradesh government.

The children reportedly suffered sexual abuse until a pair of sisters contacted their parents in November 2022 about being assaulted by Bagra, according to Times of India. An FIR was lodged at a police station in Shi-Yomi district, leading to Bagra’s arrest. The SIT investigation found that there were six cases of rape, nine cases of molestation, and six other cases of sexual harassment.