Principal and Father Arrested for Tampering with Minor's Birth Records

Police arrested a private school principal and the father of a 14-year-old rape survivor for allegedly tampering with the girl's birth records. The alterations aimed to falsely present her as an adult to help the accused secure bail. The incident involved false records changing her birth year from 2010 to 2003.

A private school principal and the father of a 14-year-old rape survivor have been arrested for allegedly tampering with the girl's birth records to help the accused secure bail, police confirmed on Sunday.

The principal, identified as Prannath Mal, was detained in Deoria on Thursday, while the girl's father, Sanjay, was apprehended in Behror, Rajasthan, on Saturday night, according to Station House Officer (SHO) of Murlipura Police Station, Sunil Kumar Jangir. The victim's complaint, filed in July, accused her aunt of selling her to Sandeep Yadav for Rs two lakh, leading to her rape.

The case, involving various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act, resulted in the arrests of the aunt, Sandeep Yadav, and his father, Satveer Yadav, who are currently in judicial custody. In a bid to falsely claim the girl was an adult, Sanjay allegedly procured a falsified school record from Mal.

SHO Jangir revealed that the altered register showed the girl's birth year as 2003 instead of 2010, making her appear 21 years old. Upon discovering the tampered document, police launched a separate investigation and validated the tampering in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the arrests of both Mal and Sanjay.

(With inputs from agencies.)