Chennai school founder booked under Pocso Act

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police on Sunday booked a self-styled godman Siva Sankar Babu, the founder of residential school Sushil Hari International School, Kelambakkam, near Chennai, following complaints of sexual abuse by past students

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police on Sunday booked a self-styled godman Siva Sankar Babu, the founder of residential school Sushil Hari International School, Kelambakkam, near Chennai, following complaints of sexual abuse by past students.

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Three FIRs have been filed against him, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, at the All Women Police Station in Mahabalipuram. And the case will soon be transferred to the CB-CID.

This is among the slew of complaints, arrests and investigations ongoing in the state after child sexual abuse charges against school teachers and sports coaches began to snowball earlier this month.

The Superintendent of Police, Chengalpattu, V Vijaykumar, did not wish to go into details of the sections to protect the interest of the victims. “He (Siva Sankar) is one of the two accused,” Vijaykumar said. The allegations on social media range from sexual abuse to showing pornography to students.

“We have formed 3-4 special teams to expedite the investigation process. We don’t want to disclose any more information at this point as it may hamper investigations,” he said. The accused isn’t present in the state. The police officer added that an officer of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank has been assigned as the Investigating Officer in the case. The Tamil Nadu director general of police has ordered for the case to be handed over to the CB-CID.

The Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNSCPCR) had issued summons to six top schools in and around Chennai, including Sushi Hari school authorities. The state body conducted enquiries on June 11. “Siva Sankar didn’t come, but his lawyer represented him,” said chairperson of TNSCPCT, Saraswathy Rangasamy. “The school’s principal also didn’t come due to Covid-19. But the school’s lawyer and correspondent turned up.” The state body, which investigated complaints that come directly to them, will be sending their report on the enquiry to the state government soon.

So far, three teachers have been arrested and are under investigation for child sexual abuse by the police, G Rajagopalan, a commerce teacher from Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB) on May 24, P Nagarajan, an athletic coach on May 28, and E Kebi Raj, a martial arts instructor, whose case has been transferred to the CB-CID.

HT contacted the school for their version but could not reach them. The story will be updated with their response.