A 54-year-old teacher of a government school in Bengaluru has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting at least 15 students for nearly three months, police said on Thursday.
The accused, Anjanappa, used to teach physical education at the government school in Hebbal.
The purported incident came to light recently after the students of classes 8 and 9 informed their parents about the teacher’s behaviour, inspector Dilip Kumar K H of Hebbal police said.
The parents approached the headmaster who subsequently launched a probe into the matter, he added.
The students accused the teacher of inappropriately touching them and also kissing some of them during the physical education classes and lunch breaks, the officer said.
After an internal inquiry found the allegations against the teacher were prima facie true, the headmaster approached the police and filed a complaint.
“The physical education teacher sexually assaulted the students over a period of two to three months. Amid several complaints from students, the headmaster held a probe and then finally approached the police on Tuesday night,” the inspector said.
Following a complaint, the teacher was booked under provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“We have booked the teacher under section 8 (providing punishment of three to five years in jail for sexual assault) and 12 (providing punishment up to three years in jail and fine for sexual harassment of a child) of Pocso Act and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC,” the officer said.
While the teacher was initially absconding, he was arrested early on Wednesday.
“The teacher was not seen at the school for four to five days. We traced him and arrested him. In the coming days, we will question the students and the teachers at the school and all the witnesses available in the case,” the officer said.
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