A police complaint was filed by two school girls of sexual harassment by a male teacher in their school. Two women teachers were also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, by the Madurai Police. Acting on this complaint, the Police found that the complaint was without substance, stated in a report by ANI.
A detailed investigation by Madurai DIG Ponni and SP Siva Prasad revealed that the school headmaster instigated the girls to file a false complaint to settle a personal score with some teachers. The headmaster called the CHILDLINE number, 1098, on August 6, 2022, and stated that he found written complaints from the girls in the school complaint box.
After the complaint was filed, Child Welfare Committee members inquired about the incident and lodged a complaint with the All Women Police station in Oomachikulam, Madurai. A POCSO complaint against the three teachers was registered as a first step in acting on the complaint and a case was registered at the Karuppayurani Police Station on the same day. It was informed by one of the accused to the Inspector General of Police Azra Garg that this was a false accusation that was made because of conflicts between the teachers, as reported by ANI.
When the case was investigated by the higher officials, the girls revealed that the letter was not written by them. "We did not write the letter ourselves. We wrote that because the headmaster of the school said so. The physical education teachers did nothing wrong with us," they said. After this, the girls were produced in front of the magistrate and the interrogation of the witnesses, the above complaint was found to be false. The AWPS inspector filed a final report in the case in the POCSO special court on August 11, saying that the complaint was bogus. Accepting this statement, the court closed the case on October 31.
The POCSO Act has been imposed on the Headmaster for inciting the girls to file complaints to take revenge on their fellow teachers. This is the first time this Act has been imposed in such an instance, stated the report. South Zone IG Asra Karg praised the officials, including Madurai DIG Ponni, SP Sivaprasad, Oomachikulam DSP and a female police inspector, who investigated the case and brought out the truth quickly on the basis that innocent people should not be punished.