Lucknow, Sept. 27: In a startling discovery, officials in Bhagalwara village near Bayakpur, Uttar Pradesh, found 40 minor girls locked inside a toilet during a raid on an illegally operating madrasa.
Acting on repeated complaints, Bayakpur Deputy Collector Ashwini Kumar Pandey and a police team inspected the three-storey building on Wednesday. When administrators attempted to stop them from reaching the upper floors, the officers pressed ahead with police support. Inside, a locked toilet was forced open by women police, revealing 40 girls between the ages of 9 and 14 packed inside.
The officers questioned why the children had been confined there despite the madrasa having eight classrooms. A teacher later claimed the girls panicked at the sight of the inspection and hid themselves in the toilet.
Authorities confirmed the institution had no government approval. It was ordered shut immediately, and all the children were safely sent home. Additional SP Ramanand Prasad said no formal complaint has been filed by either parents or officials. “If a complaint is lodged, legal action will follow,” he stated.
