After alleged rape, young survivors refuse aid and abandon school

In a deeply troubling case from Andhra Pradesh, two young survivors of alleged sexual assault have withdrawn from school and rejected all offers of government compensation, leaving officials concerned about their long-term recovery and education.

A night of terror

The ordeal began when the girls fled their hostel on the outskirts of Machilipatnam. Reaching Koneru Centre, one called her parents from a stranger's phone, asking for 100 rupees. Alarmed by their nighttime absence, the parents contacted the school principal, who immediately filed a missing persons report with police.

That's when auto-rickshaw driver M. Vamshi Kiran and his friend K. Siddhu approached the vulnerable students. They promised safe passage home but instead diverted to Rudravaram village near Machilipatnam. There, according to Superintendent of Police V. Vidyasagar Naidu, the men allegedly raped the girls in an unfinished building.

Official response meets resistance

Bandar Taluka police swiftly registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They arrested both suspects, but the legal process now faces an unexpected hurdle: the victims' complete withdrawal from official channels.

"We tried to contact the victims and offered financial and legal aid from the government. They refused," said a staff member from the Women Development and Child Welfare department, the frustration palpable even through official statements.

Child Welfare Committee members received written letters from the families explicitly rejecting financial assistance and refusing to cooperate with any inquiry. The girls have stopped attending school altogether, and families have stopped responding to officials' calls.

A plea for intervention

Andhra Pradesh State Bar Federation Human Rights secretary Pendem Rajya Lakshmi emphasized the urgent need for professional support. "The district administration should take measures to ensure that the minors continue their education," she urged, highlighting how education often becomes collateral damage in such tragedies.

Krishna District Collector D.K. Balaji told The Hindu that officials will persist in reaching the families. "We will take measures to provide protection to the minor girls and send them to school," a CWC member echoed, though the path forward remains uncertain when survivors retreat into silence.