Chandigarh: A government school principal in Haryana’s Jind district has been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing more than 50 female students, police said on Sunday.
“The accused principal was arrested on Saturday,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Bhatia, who headed the five-member Special Investigation Team probing the case, said over the phone.
“He was on the run for five days, but our teams arrested him. “He will be produced before a court (in Jind) and we will seek his remand in police custody to conduct further investigation,” he said.
Haryana State Women’s Commission had earlier said that more than 50 girl students of the government school in Jind district had accused the principal of sexual harassment.
Haryana Police had arrested the school principal, who was suspended by the Jind administration due to sexual harassment allegations, on Monday.
State Women’s Commission chairman Renu Bhatia had earlier told reporters in Panchkula: “We have received 60 written complaints from girl students against the principal. 50 of these were complaints from girls who stated that they were subjected to physical abuse by the defendant. Ten other girls also said in their complaints that they knew the principal was into such things.
Police in Jind district on Monday registered a case against the principal under Sections 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 (unfair restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code and the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Purposes. Crimes (POCSO) Act, police had said earlier.
Bhatia had said that all the complainants were minors. The victims alleged that the defendant called them to his office and “engaged in obscene behavior.”
Sources said that a group of female students at the school had also recently sent letters to the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Women’s Commission detailing their ordeal.
On the nature of the allegations made by the schoolgirls, Jind Deputy Commissioner Mohd Imran Raza had said a week ago that they had alleged that the principal had engaged in “obscene behavior” towards them.
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