School teacher arrested under Pocso in Karnataka: Police

A teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assualting a 17-year-old tribal boy in a residential high school in Yalandur taluk of the district, the police said on Sunday

A teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assualting a 17-year-old tribal boy in a residential high school in Yalandur taluk of the district, the police said on Sunday.

The police said the incident happened on April 5. (Getty Images)

The police said the incident happened on April 5 when the victim, a Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) student, was preparing for the examination. The complaint against the teacher was filed by the victim’s parents with the assistance of Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi with Chamarajanagara deputy commissioner Shilpa Nag on Saturday. In their complaint, they alleged that the teacher had called the student to his room and sexually assaulted the boy and also forced him to drink and smoke.

Odanadi director M L Parashuram said, “An FIR should be registered within 24 hours as part of the protection of children from sexual offenses (POCSO), but in this case it was delayed. Action was taken after we brought it to the attention of DC, and she promised a thorough investigation into the issue.”

He pointed out that many children, who have been molested, remain silent because they do not have the courage to speak up. “It has come to light that many have dropped out of school.”

“While it is difficult for children of the tribal community to get an education, it is really a despicable act that literate people commit such monstrous act against those who have come to study. The boy was assaulted on the day before the SSLC exam. The victim wrote the exam the next day while bearing the pain of mental trauma. We have done counselling for the boy. He told us everything that happened. We got information that this teacher had been sexually abusing children for many years and urged a thorough investigation,” he added.

District Superintendent of Police Padmini Sahu said, “An FIR was registered under the POCSO Act, and the teacher was arrested. Further investigation underway, and the officers are investigating by collating information from other students”.