A 56-year-old assistant headmaster of a government primary school in Korattur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, was arrested by the Ambattur All Women Police on Tuesday, August 1 for allegedly sexually harassing five Class V girls in the school. The issue came to light when one of the girls informed her parents about the harassment and the parent lodged a police complaint, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Following this, the man was booked and arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. After an inquiry, he was remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday, August 2, morning. The man was identified by the police as Palanivelu of Korattur. He is the assistant headmaster of the school and also a teacher for Class V, disclosed the officials.
The police said that under the guise of talking to girl students in private after class hours, he would allegedly misbehave with them. He would also make them sit on his lap and touch them inappropriately, the police added.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and conducted inquiries. The police questioned the girl and got a statement from her. The police then traced and located Palanivelu. He was then brought into custody for questioning. Initially, he had denied the allegations made by the girl and her parents. However, upon further investigation, it was found that Palanivelu had harassed other students too.
The police got the statements of the other students. When it was confirmed that he had harassed the students, the police booked and arrested Palanivel under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police have recovered his mobile phone. After the inquiry and the arrest, Palanivelu was produced before the magistrate. He was then remanded in judicial custody, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
