A government school teacher in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district was arrested for molesting students. The teacher’s misconduct was exposed during a sexual awareness campaign held by the police. Though the arrest took place on July 3, it came to light recently.
According to reports, the accused, M Senthil Kumar (50), has been working as a Science teacher in Nilgiris and has been in the profession for the past 23 years. He was transferred to a government school in Ooty only a few months ago.
Recently, the Nilgiris district police conducted an awareness programme to educate students about sexual harassment and abuse at the school. During the event, more than 20 students approached the officials and accused the teacher of sexual harassment.
Taking the issue seriously, the police are now probing whether the accused committed similar crimes in the previous schools where he worked.
The accused has been booked under Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the BNS Act and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, including sexual assault, as well as the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, by the All Women Police Station (AWPS), Ooty. According to reports, the police have also invoked the Goondas Act against him. The Goondas Act is typically applied to habitual offenders considered a public menace and makes it effectively impossible to obtain bail. The accused is currently lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison.