The headmaster of a government school in Bihar’s Nawada has been arrested under the POCSO Act after girl students at the school came forward with serious allegations against him.
The students alleged that their headmaster entered their washroom and touched them inappropriately.
In a video shared by Congress leader Pawan Khera on Tuesday, the girls are seen crying and alleging that their headmaster entered the washroom, picked them up and made them sit on his lap. According to a report, one student said she was touched wrongly by the headmaster when she went to his office to collect an answer sheet and question paper during exams.
After the incident came to light, the local villagers reportedly staged a protest and even locked up the headmaster inside his office.
Following this, the 52-year-old headmaster has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
This incident came to light on September 18. A day later, a video of a Class X teenage girl being harassed and allegedly molested by a group of men in Jamui surfaced on social media, leading to the arrest of the key suspect following an encounter.
Police took suo motu cognisance of the videos, identified the victims and registered an FIR.
State Women’s Commission Chairperson Apsara Mishra said a detailed report had been sought from the district administration on the incident, which has triggered criticism of the BJP-led government over the safety of women and girls.
"The BJP in Bihar must paint its face black," commented Pawan Khera in his X post.
"On one hand, a teenage boy and girl were allegedly harassed and molested by thugs in Jamui. And now, young girls are crying in Nawada, Bihar because their school principal peeks into the washroom and touches them inappropriately," he said.
"This is utterly unacceptable standard of safety and dignity for women and girls - in Bihar or anywhere in India," he added.
He called upon the Bihar government to raise the standards of policing, accountability and basic social order. If it cannot ensure that girls walk on the streets and use a school washroom without fear, then it should walk out in shame, he noted.
