The police on Sunday night arrested the dormitory superintendent of Manigram Don Bosco School in Murshidabad (central West Bengal) on charges of sexually abusing a Class 5 hosteller of the institution.
James Soren, the hostel head and a bachelor, allegedly committed the abuse on Thursday night in his (Soren’s) room and had been on the run ever since a complaint was lodged against him on Friday.
“Yesterday (Sunday) night he was returning on some personal work. Acting on a tipoff my officers nabbed him,” said Murshidabad superintendent of police Humayun Kabir.
A senior officer of the district police told HT: “Soren took shelter in Krishnanagar (a town in adjoining Nadia district) after committing the crime. But the Don Bosco authorities compelled him to surrender before the police (when he returned).”
On Thursday night Soren had summoned the student to his room after dinner. There he reportedly tried to strip the boy and touch his private parts.
The next day the student’s father lodged a complaint against Soren, who fled the place immediately. Kabir further said: “We have come to know that the guardians of another boy who used to study in the same school took his transfer in February this year after he was sexually abused by someone at the school. We are sending a police team to the student’s house to record his statement.”
A senior officer of the district police said: “We are fearing that many other students of the school and boarders of the hostel may have faced similar kinds of sexual abuse. However, none has registered any complaint with the police, fearing harassment by the school authorities.”
{{/usCountry}}A senior officer of the district police said: “We are fearing that many other students of the school and boarders of the hostel may have faced similar kinds of sexual abuse. However, none has registered any complaint with the police, fearing harassment by the school authorities.”
{{/usCountry}}The officer didn’t rule out the existence of some other paedophile involved in similar kinds of acts.