he Tamil Nadu police on Sunday arrested the principal of a prominent private school in Coimbatore, where a Class 12 student died by suicide alleging sexual assault by her teacher, officials familiar with the matter said. The accused teacher was arrested on Saturday, while the school principal was booked under the Pocso Act for allegedly not acting on the student’s complaint.
Soon after the arrest, the 17-year old girl’s parents, relatives and various organisations ended their agitation and accepted her body, which was then taken to the crematorium in a procession, police said.
According to the police, the girl’s body was found hanging at her residence on November 12.
“The sexual assault happened between March and May this year. Two months later, the victim shared her ordeal with one of her friends and they informed the principal. The wife of the accused also knew about the alleged assault,” Coimbatore police commissioner Deepak Damor said.
Police said the accused Mithun Chakraborthy asked the student to come to school when classes were being held online on the pretext of conducting special classes and assaulted her on the institute’s premises.
On Saturday, Chakravarthy was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 306 (abetment of suicide) and relevant sections of the (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act 2012. The principal was also booked under provisions of the POCSO Act, which mandates reporting of the crime.
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday, Chakravarthy was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 306 (abetment of suicide) and relevant sections of the (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act 2012. The principal was also booked under provisions of the POCSO Act, which mandates reporting of the crime.
{{/usCountry}}State school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said: “The teacher was arrested within 24-hours... The principal was nabbed later. She is in custody right now and the inquiry is going on.”