COIMBATORE: A 51-year-old male teacher was on Thursday arrested under the Pocso Act on charges of sexually assaulting at least 21 girl students at the school where he is employed.
The incident came to light on Wednesday when a police team from the Ooty rural sub-division conducted an awareness programme for the students on personal safety at the school.
During the session, several girl students allegedly accused the male teacher of inappropriate behaviour while they were being taught the concepts of ‘good touch and bad touch’.
A total of 21 girl students from Classes 7, 8 and 10 allegedly expressed mental distress due to the teacher’s alleged misconduct. Later, the students also submitted written complaints in the complaint box installed at the school.
Initially, the matter was investigated by Childline, which then filed a complaint with the All-Women Police Station for further investigation and legal action, police sources said.
Based on the complaints, the Ooty Rural All-Women Police arrested the teacher, who resides in Hope Park near Kotagiri, on Thursday under Sections 9(f) and (m) of the Pocso Act and 75(i) and (ii) of the BNS Act. He has been remanded in Ooty sub-jail, DSP P Rajkumar said.
The teacher, who has approximately 23 years of experience, was appointed as a science teacher at the government higher secondary school in the village near Ooty just a few months ago.
On June 25, some students had informed the headmistress about the alleged sexual assault, but the HM had failed to inform the police or the education department about it. Instead, she had allegedly personally warned the teacher, and the man had gone on leave for three days after that.