A top-ranked IB school in Mumbai has suspended eight of its students, aged 13 to 14, for making violent and sexually explicit remarks about their female classmates in a WhatsApp conversation.
The shocking matter was discovered when the mothers of the two girls (who were apparently discussed in the chat) and celebrities in their own right, got their hands on the contents of the chat and reported them to the school. Some of the girls had refused to go to school saying they were too scared.
The transcript of the chat runs into over a hundred pages, and is in the period from November 8 to November 30. Usage of terms such as ‘gang bang’ and ‘rape’, have been abundantly used. Classmates are made fun of and it even touches upon body shaming and referring to them as gays and lesbians.
As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, they are in possession of the full transcript of the chats. They have also spoken to some parents who confirmed the controversy and the suspensions. The school, however, declined to comment.
In one conversation on November 23, the boys spoke about their preferences for a bunch of girls from their class “for one night”. The conversation later centers mostly around two girls.
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The names of the students have been withheld as they are all minors and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, bars identification of minors “in need of care and protection” and/or “in conflict with law”.
In one of the conversations, a boy, referring to one of his classmates, says: “Then one night we just go and bang her.” He later uses the term “gang bang”, while referring to the girl, which elicits a cheer from a friend, who replies, “Ye.”
Throughout the chats, the boys routinely term girls as “trash” and use profanities. The violent nature of language is also seen in expressions such as: “I’ll destroy that little bi**h” and “should I go full on and kill her existence”.
The word “rape” is used four times in the chats in remarks such as: “He gets raped by his dad” and “Didn’t rape (xxx).” Homosexuality is also ridiculed as classmates are mocked with terms such as ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’.
The conversations, which have been posted on the parents chat group by the parents of one of the girls, have been leaked to several outside the school as well.
A parent, who spoke to Mirror on the condition of anonymity said, “We must trust the school will take care of it. There is no need to go beyond the school to take care of the situation.” Another parent said: “It is shocking as some of the boys were in leadership positions. I think what the children need is serious counselling.”