Ghaziabad school principal booked after girls accuse him of sexual harassment

The parents said the principal made inappropriate advances towards the girls and also touched them in appropriately after calling them to his office

The 52-year-old principal of a government aided school in Ghaziabad was booked late Tuesday night on charges sexually harassing girl students of the school, police officers said, adding that the suspect principal in turn got an FIR registered alleging that a mob, led by a woman councillor of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation, physically assaulted him on the school premises, causing him injuries.

Suspended rape-accused Delhi government official and his wife were arrested on Monday. (ANI)

The alleged harassment took place at a higher secondary school under the jurisdiction of Wave City police station on Tuesday. Police said the first FIR was lodged late Tuesday night on a complaint by parents of five girl students of Class 9, accusing the school principal of sexually harassing their girls.

The parents in their complaint said the principal made inappropriate advances towards the girls and also touched them in appropriately after calling them to his office on one pretext or the other.

The principal, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the girls, was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354a (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation), senior officers said.

They said the second FIR was lodged on Wednesday against a woman councillor, her two accomplices, two armed guards, an unidentified woman and 50-60 other unidentified persons.

“The first FIR was lodged in connection with complaint given by parents of five girls.They were accompanied by other parents as well. The second FIR was lodged against the local councillor and others for allegedly thrashing the principal after the girls complained. We are investigating the entire sequence of events and CCTV footage from the school will be viewed for further evidence. The principal also suffered injuries and was sent for medical aid and examination,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

When contacted, the councillor said the girls were being harassed by the principal for quite some time and he allegedly threatened them into silence.

“These are girls of classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and they complained that the principal would call them to his office and proceed to touch them inappropriately. Their parents approached me on Tuesday and the locals were also outraged when they got to know about the harassment. I went to the school and tried talking to the students there. The principal started misbehaving with me. Seeing this, parents and locals entered the school and thrashed the principal in anger,” the councillor said.

The principal also gave a complaint to the police that the councillor forcibly entered the school with her accomplices and made the girls sign a few papers unmindful of his objections.

“About 50-60 unidentified persons entered the school and they along with councillor’s aides attacked me. This attacked was a planned one as I did not entertain any fake admissions in the school,” the suspect said in his complaint.

HT tried reaching the principal, but he was unavailable to take calls. His son, however, denied the allegations of sexual harassment.

“My father suffered injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment. The police investigation is on,” he said.

The officials of the district education department said they have sought an inquiry report from the school.

“The school is government aided and a report has been sought in connection with the allegations levelled by the girl students. The police have registered an FIR in this connection and are investigating the matter,” said Rajesh Kumar Srivas, district inspector of schools.