A 30-year-old woman was arrested under POCSO act on the charges of sexual harassment and allegedly used her students for pornographic purposes at Arni in Tiruvannamalai district.

After a complaint was filed by Tiruvannamalai District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Arni All Women's Police arrested U Nithya (30), a government school teacher, under Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) and Section 14 (punishment for using child for pornographic purposes) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Wednesday, according to police sources.

Nithya was married to Umesh Kumar, and the couple was residing at Kamaraj Nagar in Arni of Tiruvannamalai district. Nithya, who was working as an English teacher at Paiyur government high school, had sexually harassed her students to be intimate with them and used them for pornographic purposes. She, on the pretext of taking tuition classes, had gone to a student house and was in intimate relationships.

The incident came to light after her husband, Umesh Kumar - a government school teacher, found intimate pictures and pornographic materials of the student on her mobile phone. Umesh confronted her wife, Nithya, and asked her to stay from such behaviour, the police sources said.

After the revelation, the couple had misunderstandings and quarrels. But, Nithya continued to indulge in misconduct, and when Umesh intervened she became rude and acted curtly. Frustrated over the issue, Umesh submitted a petition to district collector after his complaint was rejected by Arni all women police last year.

Based on the instructions from the collector, the District Social Welfare Officials (DSWO) conducted an inquiry, during which Nithya confessed to the crime. The DCPU filed a complaint with the police in January, and thus Nithya was arrested under POCSO, the police sources added.