Teacher held for harassing students, HM for concealing it

Trichy: A govt school teacher in Trichy was arrested under Pocso Act on Tuesday for allegedly sexually harassing students. The headmaster was also arrested for concealing the offence and not acting on complaints.The accused teacher, A Baskar, 57, and headmaster D Velankanni, 55, work at a panchayat union primary school. According to sources, Baskar allegedly harassed several girls in his class. Recently, other teachers and parents complained about his behaviour to Velankanni, but he did not act on them.On Monday, as Baskar and Velankanni did not come to school, local people gathered there and protested. Manapparai deputy superintendent of police K V Kavya led a police team to the school and spoke to the protesters. District child protection officer P Muthumanickam, along with education department officials, subsequently conducted an inquiry into the matter.Following a complaint from the officials, a case was registered against Baskar and Velankanni under sections of Pocso Act, and they were arrested. The accused were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody. Investigation is currently in progress.