BELAGAVI: Days after a government school headmaster, accused in a POCSO case, controversially secured 'station bail' at the Belagavi Rural Police Station, triggering a political storm, he was re-arrested and remanded to judicial custody on Thursday.
The police action came after TNIE published a report on the widespread political outrage after the incident.
The accused has been booked for allegedly misbehaving with a minor student at his school.
It was alleged that the police had granted station bal to the accused under political pressure. The move had sparked widespread debate, given the gravity of charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Narayan Barmani, who was supervising the probe claimed that the arrest followed discovery of fresh evidence that surfaced during the course of investigation.
The accused was taken into custody and produced before the court on Thursday, which remanded him to judicial custody.
The incident dates back to December 12. As soon as the matter came to light, the village witnessed intense tension. Enraged residents attempted to assault the accused within the school premises, prompting police intervention to rescue him after considerable effort.
Though the family of the minor girl initially hesitated to lodge a formal complaint, the police registered a suo motu case under the POCSO Act, considering the seriousness of the allegations. However, the decision to grant station bail to the accused, despite the stringent provisions of the law, led to severe backlash in political and civil circles.
Former MLA Sanjay Patil alleged that the accused teacher was a supporter of Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, and claimed that police were pressured into granting bail. Belagavi South MLA Abhay Patil also questioned the legality and propriety of granting station bail in a POCSO case.
APMC police station case under scanner
In a parallel development, Police Commissioner Bhushan Borse has taken serious note of another POCSO case under the jurisdiction of APMC Police Station. The investigation has now been handed over to ACP (CEN) Raghu.
Acting on media reports, both the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter, prompting senior police officials to reassign the probe.
Investigators have since recorded statements of the survivor and key witnesses. Preliminary findings reportedly point to multiple lapses in the handling of the case.
Notably, police officials confirmed that while one case was registered at the APMC police station in December, another POCSO case had already been registered in the last week of November.