Chennai school teacher arrested over sexual harassment complaints

An alumna of the school where the teacher taught was the first to accuse him of sexual misconduct during online and physical classes

A Chennai schoolteacher was arrested late on Monday for allegedly sexually harassing multiple students, Shankar Jiwal, the city police commissioner said. He was produced before a magistrate on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody.

Representational image.

The teacher has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Indian Penal Code’s Sections 354 A (sexual harassment) and 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act related to publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form and that containing sexually explicit act.

An alumna of the school where the teacher taught was the first to accuse him of sexual misconduct during online and physical classes. The allegations went viral on Sunday. The following day, around 1,000 alumni of the school wrote to the management seeking immediate action. The alumni expressed disappointment that the school had not taken action despite complaints against the teacher, who taught at the school for over 20 years.

The school denied having received complaints but said that it would look into the allegations and suspended the teacher.

Students have complained that the teacher would crack inappropriate jokes about the body parts of women and show up in a towel wrapped around his waist for the online classes. He also allegedly asked a student to watch a movie with him.