Lucknow: The headmaster of a government school in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district was arrested Monday for alleged sexual abuse of at least 18 minor students studying at the school, according to the FIR registered in the case.
The matter came to light when the students, aged between 7 and 14 years, confided in three women employed as cooks at the school, who then informed the teachers, the FIR adds.
The teachers took the matter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which sent a team to the school Saturday to record the statements of the students.
An FIR was registered in the case the same day, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman to outrage her modesty) and 294 (obscene acts and songs), and Sections 9f (whoever being on the management or staff of an educational institution or religious institution, commits sexual assault on a child in that institution) and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. ThePrint has a copy of the FIR.
Speaking to the media Saturday, Preeti Bhardwaj, NCPCR member, said the school was a co-educational institute till Class VIII.
“At least 18 students, aged between seven and 14 years, came forward and told us that the headmaster was sexually harassing them,” she alleged, adding that the students also informed them that the headmaster — identified in the FIR as Rajesh Kumar, 51 — would call them over and give them Rs 5 or Rs 10 (as allurement).
Bhardwaj added: “An FIR has been lodged under suitable IPC [Indian Penal Code] sections and the POCSO [Protection of Children from Sexual Offences] Act. In the coming days, more sections are likely to be added because it’s an aggravated crime against children.”
In a video statement, Unnao assistant superintendent of police Shashi Shekhar Singh said the police were informed Saturday about the headmaster indulging in obscene acts.
“An FIR has been lodged and legal action is being taken. The accused is being questioned,” he stated.
Soon after the FIR was registered, the district’s basic shiksha adhikari suspended Kumar. ThePrint has a copy of the suspension order.
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‘Facing bad touch’
The FIR quotes the cooks as saying that a group of female students informed them that the school headmaster called them near him and “indulged in obscene acts and wrongful gestures”.
“The girls further shared about facing bad touch at the hands of the headmaster, following which the cooks informed a female teacher of the school. More teachers spoke to the students after that. The teachers then informed the basic shiksha adhikari (basic education officer of the district) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights,” states the FIR.
Talking about the NCPCR team’s visit to the school, Bhardwaj said, “Half of the female students talked to us freely about the issue. A team of the child welfare committee accompanied us and recorded the statements of the students. Along with their parents, we have also recorded statements of the employees working at the school.”
According to Kumar’s suspension order, departmental action has been initiated against him owing to the FIR registered against him, for “violation of the Right to Education Act, for acting against the basic rules of the Employee (Conduct) Regulation, 1986 and for acting against [UP] Basic Education Staff Rules, 1973.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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