In the matter of an alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old female student at a private school in Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune, a physical education teacher has been arrested along with seven others, the police said on Saturday.
The arrests were made based on a complaint filed by the girl’s parents at Nigdi police station. The PE teacher had previously been arrested on molestation charges. However, the school reinstated him post his release, an official said.
The complaint alleges that the teacher had been sexually harassing the girl for the past two years, he added.
“The accused allegedly touched the girl inappropriately during the PE classes and would wait for her outside the women’s washroom. He also threatened her on multiple occasions,” he said.
The accused have been charged under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty), 78 (stalking), 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult a woman’s modesty), 351 (criminal intimidation), and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), along with other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
An official stated that the others arrested include the school’s principal, along with some trustees and board members.
(With PTI inputs)