Daund school teacher wanted in sexual harassment of student held

Pune: The Pune Rural police late on Thursday night arrested the 42-year-old teacher of a school in Daund taluka, accused of sexually harassing a Standard VII student of the institution on and before Aug 15. "After the incident came to light, the teacher had fled to Saswad. We took him into custody before he could run away from there," inspector Santosh Doke of the Daund police said.A case has been registered under sections 75 (sexual harassment) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and sections 8, 12 and 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.The principal of the school was arrested on Wednesday on charges of inaction and not reporting the alleged sexual harassment.The girl's parents told the police that the teacher was harassing their daughter for the past few days. They stated that their daughter told them that the teacher had touched her inappropriately in the school. He sent some lewd messages to her on August 15. He even made a video call to her and made objectionable comments.The girl's father visited the school a couple of times in the next few days seeking action against the teacher, but in vain. The girl's parents and a group of people again visited the school on Thursday to raise the issue. Later, her parents lodged a complaint with the police and demanded action against the teacher and the school authorities. Based on the statements of the girl's parents, the police on Thursday arrested the school principal."So far, we have received one complaint against the teacher. We are questioning him," police inspector Doke said.Santosh Patil, Pune Zilla Parishad CEO, said, "An FIR has already been filed on the matter. A team under the education officer (secondary) went there and would submit a report to the education director. We will be retraining the teachers in POCSO and other laws related to children."