Paradip, Oct. 18: The denial of admission to a six-year-old girl by the authorities of a government-run primary school on the ground that the applicant was the daughter of an unwed mother has triggered a controversy.

The young mother had refused to divulge the name of the biological father of her child to the school authorities. As a result, the authorities of the Malasahi Primary School in Jagatsinghpur district's Kujang block declined to admit the girl.

An administrative inquiry has been ordered into the alleged denial on the grounds that girl is the daughter of a single mother.

Jagatsinghpur collector Bijoy Ketan Upadhyaya said: "The single mother has the legal right to admit her child to a school without disclosing the name of his or her biological father. The headmaster of the school concerned might not be aware of this. A direction has been issued for the child's admission immediately."

"The child was denied admission, because her mother did not want to reveal the name of the daughter's biological father. We were shocked. We have drawn the attention of higher-ups for undoing the wrong," said a relative of the child.

Child rights activists took strong exception to the incident and one of them said it was unlawful and arbitrary.

"The Supreme Court has conferred rights on unwed mothers. The school authorities need to be educated on the legal facets of the admission procedure," said rights activist Binayak Swain.

Farmer suicide

Bir Majhi, a farmer from Bhanpur village in Dharamgarh block in Kalahandi district, has allgedly committed suicide. He was neck deep in debt. In Balangir district, a farmer of Hardatal Padia village allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison on Saturday.