MALAPPURAM: Manjeri Pocso Court remanded a 44-year-old teacher with Malappuram MSP Higher Secondary School based on the statement of a Class 9 student on sexual abuse. The accused is M M Narayanan, a native of Pulpatta. Narayanan has been working as a Sanskrit teacher at the school for the past 10 years. The girl complained to the school authorities earlier this week that she was sexually abused by the teacher when she was studying in Class VI. The school authorities reported the complaint at the Malappuram Vanitha Police station. Police later recorded her statement in the presence of a higher school official and arrested Narayanan on Tuesday. The teacher was brought before the POCSO court on Wednesday.
The lawyer of the accused moved a bail plea. According to sources, the bail application stated that the intervention of the teacher in settling a fight between the survivor and another student in the school had prompted the survivor to come up against Narayanan. However, the special public prosecutor Aisha P Jamal objected to the claims of the defense lawyer to get the bail. She said since accused is the teacher of the survivor, he might influence her or people related to her.
Taking the argument seriously, the court remanded the accused. “If he gets bail immediately, it would send a wrong message to society that Pocso Act doesn’t pose a threat to the offenders. Also, children will be reluctant to come out with such complaints. So, I strongly objected to the bail plea,” Aisha P Jamal said. With this latest one, Malappuram recorded two major Pocso cases this year in which school teachers are involved.