TIRUNELVELI: After the students and parents refused to let up pressure during their sit-in protest seeking action against a 45-year-old teacher for allegedly misbehaving with a class 12 girl, the Courtallam police launched a manhunt for the absconding accused, at Ilanji near Tenkasi on Friday. The teacher is accused of having forced the victim to watch sexually explicit content and misbehaving with her. The school headmaster has been arrested and one more was booked for helping the accused evade police action.
Sources said that Raju (45) was a temporary Tamil teacher at a government-aided school in Ilanji. He took tuition classes for class 11 and 12 students.
On Wednesday morning, at the tuition centre, he allegedly forced the victim to watch sexually explicit material and misbehaved with her. However, the Courtallam police told Express that the nature of the crime was yet to be ascertained. Raju was booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, they added.
Apparently, the girl shared the incident with her school friends on Thursday morning. The students took the matter to the headmaster, Arumugam (47), and a management senior, Shanmuga Velayutham (60), who allegedly tried to suppress the incident.
Angered by their apathy, the students staged a sit-in protest after class hours. Soon, their parents gathered at the school and demanded the arrest of the alleged offenders. As the protest continued till 10 pm on Thursday night, police arrived at the spot and assured action.
Nevertheless, the students continued to protest on Friday as well. They reportedly boycotted their classes and staged a dharna on the school premises. Meanwhile, the school management announced two days leave until Saturday.