KENDRAPARA: A teacher of a government-managed high school in Kendrapara district was placed under suspension on Saturday for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old girl student in the school on Thursday.
The matter came to the fore after father of the girl filed a complaint against the science teacher Biswambar Parida in Mahakalapada before the headmaster of the school. The teacher, on Thursday, called the Class X girl to a separate room in the school and molested her, the complaint mentioned.
The girl's father also lodged an FIR in the Mahakalpada police station on Friday. Protesting the incident, guardians of many students locked the main gate of the school demanding arrest of the accused.
"We investigated the matter and came to know that the teacher has reportedly molested the girl for which he has been placed under suspension. Many students and guardians were protesting and demanding arrest of the teacher," said District Education Officer of Kendrapada, Sanjeev Singh.
Mother of the victim said after the incident, the girl was reluctant to go to school. "When I asked her the reason, she said the teacher took her to the restroom and molested her. I could not believe that a teacher could do this," she said.
Contacted, IIC of Mahakalapada police station, Manoranjan Chaudhury said, the father of the girl lodged an FIR in the police station against the teacher on Friday alleging that his daughter was molested by the accused.
Acting on the FIR, police filed a case against the teacher under Section- 354 of IPC and under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act (POCSO) 2012. "However, the accused teacher is absconding. We are investigating the case and will nab him soon," the IIC stated.