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Kaithal govt school principal arrested for sexually harassing girl students
The accused was identified as Ravi Kumar. He was arrested and sent to jail, said Kaithal superintendent of police (SP) Upasana
The Kaithal police have arrested the principal of a government school in Guhla block of the district for allegedly sexually harassing at least four girl students, officials said on Thursday.
The accused was identified as Ravi Kumar. He was arrested and sent to jail, said superintendent of police (SP) Upasana.
A five-member committee under block education officer (BEO) was formed by the district education officer (DEO) Ravinder Kumar on Tuesday after the girls and villagers levelled allegations against the principal.
When the committee visited the school on Wednesday, villagers, alleging inaction, staged a protest. They also locked the school gate and the staff was asked to leave.
Then the village sarpanch along with a few villagers approached the Haryana State Commission for Women demanding action.
Speaking to HT, chairperson of the commission Renu Bhatia said she contacted the SP after the villagers alleged that their complaint was not being registered by the police.
“I instructed the SP to take the case personally and meet the girls. After the meeting, she told me that the statements under Section 164 of the CrPC would be recorded before a magistrate on Thursday. I asked her to get it done the same day in front of a special magistrate within two hours, register an FIR and arrest the principal within 24 hours. The statements were recorded late evening and the accused was arrested within three-four hours,” Bhatia added.
SP Upasana said that the case was registered under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354-A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
An SIT under deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Guhla was also formed on Thursday to investigate the matter and the education department also conducted a parallel probe.
DEO Kumar said the committee submitted its report which has been forwarded to the directorate for further action.
This is the second such case in Haryana within a month. Kartar Singh, principal of the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls in Jind district, was also arrested for sexual harassment last month and later dismissed from service by the state government.
An inquiry committee headed by Uchana subdivisional magistrate Gulzar Malik found the principal prima facie guilty of sexual harassment after it interacted with 390 students and as many as 142 girl students testified against Singh.
A letter by 15 students led to the inquiry as on August 31, they wrote a five-page letter addressed to President of India, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, Haryana governor, and the state education minister.
Following the case, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had asked Renu Bhatia to organise seminars with the police to prevent such incidents in the future.
