Ghaziabad: Day after girls write to chief minister, school principal arrested for sexual harassment

The FIR was lodged by parents of five girl students of class 9 who alleged that the suspect called the girls separately to his office and made advances towards them and also touched them inappropriately

The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday arrested the 52-year-old principal of a government-aided school on charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation of several girl students whose parents registered an FIR on August 22 at Wave City police station.

The police also registered a second FIR on a complaint given by the principal against a woman councillor, her two accomplices, two armed guards, an unidentified woman and 50-60 other unidentified persons. (Representative Image)

The FIR was lodged by parents of five girl students of class 9 who alleged that the suspect called the girls separately to his office and made advances towards them and also touched them inappropriately.

“We arrested the principal on Tuesday on charges of sexual harassment. He was also called for questioning in this regard. Our teams also tried to search for visual evidence but the CCTV cameras in the principal’s office have been lying defunct for almost two months. The other cameras in the school were in working order,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), rural.

The police also registered a second FIR on a complaint given by the principal against a woman councillor, her two accomplices, two armed guards, an unidentified woman and 50-60 other unidentified persons. The FIR was lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 147 (rioting) and 120b (criminal conspiracy).

The principal in his complaint said a mob led by the local woman councillor thrashed him in his office after the girls allegedly complained about the harassment to their families and they approached the councillor for help, said police. The principal in his complaint alleged that the councillor forcibly entered the school with her accomplices and made the girls sign some papers despite him objecting to this.

“The attack was a planned conspiracy as I did not entertain any fake admission in the school,” the suspect principal maintained in the FIR.

The principal was arrested on the basis of statements given by the girls. The investigation is on in both cases. The medical reports of the principal mention simple injuries. An investigation is on and the people involved in the attack are being identified. They will be arrested soon,” the DCP said.

The girls on Monday also sent a letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath and sought his help in getting justice in the case. The four page letter mentions the case details and also the alleged behaviour of the principal.

The letter, reportedly written in human blood, was widely shared on social media on Monday, said police.

The letter prodded the police into arresting the principal nearly a week after the FIR was lodged against him.

The councillor on Tuesday said the police should not have lodged an FIR against her and the others.

“We went to the school to raise the issue faced by the girls and that is no crime. Some agitated locals attacked the principal and the police can check this from the CCTV footage. The girls have also written to the chief minister,” the councillor said.