Teacher who sexually assaulted 15-year-old boy in Chandigarh gets bail for ‘being a lady’

In March, the boy’s mother barred him from going for tuitions, following which a drama ensued wherein the teacher locked the boy in her house in the presence of his parents and her husband.

A 34-year-old female teacher, arrested in May for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy who was taking tuitions from her, was on Wednesday granted bail by a trial court, “considering she was a lady, without commenting on the merit of the case”.

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The court of additional district and sessions judge Poonam R Joshi granted bail to the accused, after directing her to furnish bail bonds worth Rs 50,000.

Sources said the accused, a science teacher in a government school, and mother of two girls, had not been keeping well, and had attached her medical certificates with her bail plea. She is facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, wherein it is normally difficult to get bail.

Sangeeta Jund, project director, Childline, a child helpline, that had filed a police complaint in the case, said the victim’s mother had contacted her worried about the safety of her son and the family. Learning about the bail, Jund said she will seek police protection for the boy.

The families know each other well and owing to this, the boy and his sister started taking tuitions from the woman in September 2017. As per the police complaint by Childline, the woman asked the boy’s parents to send their daughter for tuition separately so that she could focus on their son, and was sexually abusing him since March.

In March, the boy’s mother barred him from going for tuitions, following which a drama ensued wherein the teacher locked the boy in her house in the presence of his parents and her husband. The boy was rescued with the neighbours’ help, and his parents called the police.