A school in Kolkata, the capital city of the Eastern state of West Bengal in India, has accused 10 girls of lesbianism. The school authorities also said they were looking to bring the students to the "right course".
Bengali language TV channel ABP Ananda reported that the girls are students of class IX at a school in South Kolkata.
The parents of the girls accused the school of forcibly obtaining written admissions from their children. They also had an argument with the school's headmistress.
However, the headmistress said some students complained against the girls and they admitted to homosexuality upon confrontation by the school authorities. The girls were then asked to give a written admission.
"Some students had complained against 10 students of indulging in such behavior. We called those students and they admitted it. Considering the sensitive nature of the issue, I asked them to admit it in writing. I have got written admissions from all 10 students," the headmistress was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
The headmistress also said the school called the guardians to intimate them about the issue. She said the school's aim was to "discuss" the matter with the parents so that together they could "bring these girls on the right course."
Meanwhile, the parents have dismissed all the allegations and said mere holding hands and putting arms around each other's shoulder are not acts of homosexuality, reported the news agency.
The same school made headlines in February 2018 when one of its non-teaching staff was accused of molesting a class IX student. The accused, Moloy Barua, was arrested based on an FIR.
He was booked under IPC Sections 354 and 511 as well as Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act.
Homosexuality is still a taboo in many parts of India and Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalizes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal."
In 2018, India's Supreme Court declared it would re-examine Section 377.
