Six held for seeking money from accused headmaster to withdraw molestation case

The father had accused the headmaster of molesting his daughter repeatedly for the last 15 days after offering her a lift on his motorcycle.

Six people, including the father of a class 6 student, were arrested on Saturday evening for allegedly extorting ₹17.5 lakh to withdraw a complaint of molestation against a 58-year-old headmaster at the Women’s police station in Manesar.

The father had accused the headmaster of molesting his daughter repeatedly for the last 15 days after offering her a lift on his motorcycle. (AP Photo)

The father had accused the headmaster of molesting his daughter repeatedly for the last 15 days after offering her a lift on his motorcycle. The headmaster was arrested on Friday.

The accused headmaster won a national award this year for his performance and got a two-year extension. Police said they received a complaint from the headmaster’s family that a few men had approached them and said if they paid ₹20 lakh, the case against the headmaster would be withdrawn.

Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said the family immediately informed the police after which a trap was laid and they were called to a local politician’s office in the village. “The father of the victim, along with five others, reached the spot and accepted ₹17.5 lakh. The police team caught them red-handed. We seized the money from them,” Kumar said.

The complainant had allegedly demanded ₹20 lakh, but eventually settled for ₹17.5 lakh to withdraw the complaint, police said.

An FIR under sections 384(extortion), 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) and 34(common Intention) of the IPC was registered against the six people at Pataudi police station on Saturday. The accused will be produced before the magistrate on Monday, police said.

On Friday, the headmaster was booked under Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Women’s police station in

Manesar. Police said the headmaster’s past record was good and no one was ready to believe that he had molested the girl. However, he had been telling his family members and senior officials of the education department that some villagers had been targeting him since he started raising funds to fix a broken road in the village, police said.

“After being arrested, he told us that he helped many students get admission to the school. He said often, he used to give them a lift on his bike on their way to and from the school,” Kumar said. Kumar said the girl, who recorded her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), said that the headmaster touched her inappropriately when she got on the motorbike on her way to school and while returning home.

“She told us that he threatened to fail her in exams if she narrated her ordeal to her parents, teachers or any fellow student,” Kumar said on Friday.