Following the incident, the headmaster was suspended, and the District Inspector of Schools (SC/ST) has taken temporary charge, according to sources in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare department, which runs the school at Lingagada in the neighbouring tribal-dominated district.
Department director R K Choudhury said 20 of the girls, all students of class X, have returned, and efforts were on to persuade the other two girls to go back to the school.
(Published 30 July 2009, 19:09 IST)