Tamil Nadu horror: Govt school teacher arrested for molesting 21 girl students; victims speak out after awareness drive

UDHAGAMANDALAM: A govt school teacher was arrested near Ooty on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday for sexually harassing 21 girl students.The issue came to light when a team of police personnel conducted an awareness programme on sexual abuse at a govt school near Ooty recently. “They were told about inappropriate and appropriate touches. After the session, a Class VI girl student approached the team, saying that science teacher M Senthilkumar, 50, had touched her inappropriately. Another 20 girl students, all aged between 12 and 15 years, also came forward with similar accusations against the teacher,” an official source said.The matter was reported to the district superintendent of police and the district child welfare officer. After an investigation, a case was registered against Senthilkumar under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. “He was arrested at midnight on Thursday. He was later produced before a judicial magistrate in Ooty and lodged in jail under judicial custody,” the source said.A resident of the Nilgiris, Senthilkumar had taught at various schools across the state. He was posted at the govt school near Ooty recently, the source said.District superintendent of police N S Nisha said they had been conducting regular awareness programmes at schools to educate students on sexual abuse, both within and outside the schools.“This initiative has been going on for the past two years. We have held 2,500 such programmes at the schools in the district so far this year, against 3,000 in 2024. During the previous awareness programmes, one or two cases were reported. However, this is the first time 21 cases against a single teacher have been registered. Certainly, these awareness programmes provide clarity to students and encourage them to come forward with complaints,” she said.