A teacher in central Delhi accused of prostituting her own students
Riots erupted yesterday afternoon in central Delhi after news broke that a local teacher was peddling her underage female students in a homegrown prostitution ring. Uma Khurana, who teaches math at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, a government-run school in the Daryaganj area, allegedly drugged her students, took nude pictures of the girls, and then blackmailed them with the photos. Khurana reportedly forced the girls, aged 15 to 18, to make pornographic films and engage in prostitution.
Early Thursday morning, the private Hindu news channel Live India aired footage of a sting operation featuring Khurana. A reporter for the channel posed as a potential customer and struck a deal with the teacher for time with one of her students. Khurana was filmed accepting money during this transaction. The report also included an interview with one of the girls, who explained how Khurana had blackmailed and threatened her and her fellow classmates.
Following this broadcast, hundreds of enraged parents and protesters stormed the school in hopes of finding Khurana. At the time of the initial riot, 600 students and 25 teachers were inside of the school. Police arrived in time to escort the students and the teachers to safety, but only after the crowd had managed to find Khurana and thrash her repeatedly. Officers eventually separated the teacher from the mob and brought her to a nearby hospital to have her injuries treated.
With Khurana gone, the protesters directed their attention towards motorists and shopkeepers in the area. The riots lasted over five hours, and police were forced to set off teargas shells to calm the angered citizens. Over 30 vehicles were damaged during the riots, including a police gypsy that was set on fire in front of the Delhi Stock Exchange building. A Blueline bus was also stoned after its passengers were first removed and beaten. Reports now claim that 22 people were injured in these attacks.
This is not the only recent case of an Indian mob taking the law into their own hands. The police have searched Khurana’s home and school officials are currently looking into the serious allegations against the teacher.