A 17-year-old found dead in hostel in Karnataka; parents claim sexual harassment by principal

In the Raichur district of Karnataka's Lingasagur town, a 17-year-old student of Sir M Visvesvaraya Pre-University College was found dead in her hostel room under mysterious circumstances, states an IANS report. The girl's parents alleged that she was sexually harassed by her principal, who later killed her and staged her murder as a suicide. 

The victim, identified as Ishwarya, was a Class XI Science student at the college. Her body was discovered last night, January 3, inside her hostel room. Today, the parents and other family members of the victim attempted to enter the college premises while claiming that Ramesh, the Principal, was to blame for her death. According to their claims, the principal would allegedly repeatedly call her. The IANS report also states that the family members of the girl have further registered a case against the principal at the Lingasaguru Police Station. 

Last month, a 52-year-old male teacher at a Kerala school was arrested for allegedly sexually harassing over 26 students during counselling sessions since 2021. Initially, only five students gave their statements to the police, and later, others came forward. The accused, KV Sasikumar, was booked under a number of provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.