CUDDALORE: A private school headmaster, identified by police as A Edilbert Felix Arokiyaraj, was forced to walk with just his underwear by the residents of a village in Cuddalore district on Wednesday after a purported photograph of him kissing a former student of the school went viral on social media.
Felix (40) of Thiruppathiripuliyur in Cuddalore is the headmaster of a school managed by a trust run by government school teachers near Vriddachalam. According to sources, the girl found in the picture was a Class 12 student who passed out of the school last year. She is currently pursuing nursing diploma. A police official said, “We have filed a case under the Pocso Act as the girl is a minor. Felix was arrested and produced before a magistrate in Vriddachalam on Wednesday and remanded in Cuddalore Central Prison.”
“No case has been booked against the villagers as we have not received any complaint from Felix regarding the attack. We will initiate action if we receive a complaint,” a senior police official said.
According to sources, after the picture was shared widely within the local community, villagers and relatives of the girl intercepted Felix when he was leaving the school on Wednesday and took him forcibly to the girl’s village. After reaching the village, Felix was allegedly assaulted and was made to remove his clothes and forced to walk back to the school wearing just his underwear. Vriddachalam police intervened and rescued Felix and took him to police station.
The villagers also held protests in front of the school, demanding action against Felix and the school management. A purported video of the protest also showed the girl arguing with the crowd and defending the accused, saying that their relationship was consensual, sources said.
Police said the photograph was taken when the girl was still a student at the school and noted that she is still a minor. Felix, who is married and is father of a child, had paid her college fees, sources said.