The vice-principal of Don Bosco English medium school in Yerwada neighbourhood of the city was arrested on Tuesday on charges of attempting to rape a Class 10 student, police said.

A Pune court remanded vice-principal Iju Francis Falkau, 54, in police custody till January 25. The school administration did not respond to queries for comment.

In her complaint to the Yerwada police on Monday, the 14-year-old girl alleged Falkau called her to his cabin after school hours on January 2 and misbehaved with her after locking the door.

“Falkau allegedly tried to rape her. The girl managed to escape and told her friends about the incident,” sub-inspector Reshma B Mulani, who is investigating the case, said.

According to the police, the girl stopped going to school after the incident. Pressed by her parents, she finally told them about the assault.

The girl’s parents told the police they had confronted Falkau, but he had rebuffed them.

Falkau has been charged under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code.

Teen raped in Sonepat
In a latest wave of crime against women, a 16-year-old was raped in Gohana of Sonepat district on Tuesday. The police said five of the six accused have been arrested within hours of registering the case. The woman accused of helping the rapists was booked under criminal conspiracy.