Girl students in Karnataka school beat teacher with sticks, accuse him of sexual assault

In many videos circulating via social media, Chinmayanand, the head teacher at a government school in Karnataka’s Mandya district can be seen sitting on the floor of the hostel corridor surrounded by a group of enraged girl students charging at him with sticks, and doing everything they can in a desperate attempt to oppose his alleged sexual misconduct. Thrown off by the wrath of the students, Chinmayanad appears intimidated to approach them. He is reluctant to come down the stairs where the students are seen to congregate. He seems to negotiate with them, asking them to calm down if they want him to answer their questions.

Another video clip shows that the students have locked a gate from the inside even as a police constable and a few others are outside.Chinmayanand is also seen to be chased by the students and beaten with sticks. In a similar video, he can be seen lying on the floor, the agitated girls surrounding him, and hitting him. Following the agitation, some parents of the students can be seen rushing to the location, following which the police take Chinmayanad into custody based on the complaints. 

So what exactly happened on the night of Wednesday, December 14, at the girls hostel of the Government High School in Katteri village, the videos of which have been doing the rounds on social media?

According to students and parents, Chinmayanand, who has been teaching Kannada in the school for the last 4 to 5 years, sexually abused and assaulted girl students in the hostel. Asianet News Kannada reported that the teacher used to show obscene videos to students, touch their private parts, and threaten to fail them if they complained about it. While some of the students did open up to their parents, who in turn took up the matter with the school authorities, no affirmative action was taken.

Chinmayanand, the teacher accused of sexual misconduct.

When Chinmayanand allegedly misbehaved with a student in the hostel on Wednesday night, fellow hostel mates rushed to her aid and tried to physically confront him. In one of the videos of the incident, a girl student can be heard shouting at him asking – “Why are you touching her, sir? Did we do anything wrong? Are you even a headmaster?” and went on to question his alleged abuse of power and position. 

The police told TNM that there have been no police complaints against Chinmayanand in the past. He was taken into custody following the said event and charged under sections 354 A (Sexual Harassment), 354 D (Stalking offence), 506 (Punishment for Criminal intimidation) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) as well as sections 4, 10, and 12 of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

Instances of school teachers abusing their power to sexually exploit students have been reported quite often in recent times. In October this year, a teacher at a school in Davanagere village in Karnataka was thrashed by villagers for sexually harassing a girl student. The accused used to sexually harass the student after classes. Last month, a 55-year-old physical education teacher at a government school in Bengaluru was arrested for sexually harassing students.

Girl students of a govt school in Karnataka's Mandya district beating up the head teacher of the school for alleged sexual misconduct against students. He was later arrested and charged for rape and and criminal intimidation.#Karnataka pic.twitter.com/gWMFK74vRB

— Korah Abraham (@thekorahabraham) December 15, 2022