Teacher accused of molestation in police custody
Mandi, June 22
A sexual harassment case involving four girl students of a government primary school in the Jogindernagar area of Mandi district came to light yesterday. The police arrested the accused schoolteacher after the parents of the victims lodged a complaint. Today, he was produced before a court, which sent him to three-day police custody.
Mandi SP Sakshi Verma said that the 51-year-old teacher was accused of molesting the minor students and after a complaint was received, a case was registered under the POCSO Act and he was arrested.
The accused was posted in the Jogindernagar school in December 2021. He allegedly began molesting the girl students in 2023. Upon receiving a complaint via the Child Helpline (1098), the district child protection unit intervened and recorded the statements of the victims and their families.
An investigation revealed that besides two girl students of Class IV and V, the accused had also allegedly molested two students of Class VI. The police had spoken to 15 school students.
“A case has been filed under the POCSO Act against the accused teacher for molesting minor girl students. The police arrested him on Friday. He was on Saturday produced before a local court, which sent him to three-day police custody,” she added.
The SP said that the police were investigating the case minutely to collect evidence and more details about the accused teacher, whether he had molested other students while working in other schools in the district.
