A 58-year-old assistant headmaster of a government high school in Pudukottai was arrested on Monday (17 February 2025) under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually harassing multiple girl students.
The arrest followed a week-long inquiry by the district child protection officer (DCPO) after a student contacted the Childline helpline (1098) on 10 February 2025, reporting the misconduct. Based on the inquiry, the DCPO lodged a formal complaint against the accused for allegedly inappropriately touching female students on the school premises.
Following his arrest, the assistant headmaster was produced before the Pudukottai Mahila Court on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. The Thirumayam all-woman police station has booked him under the POCSO Act and Section 7 of the Juvenile Justice (Protection of Children) Act.
Authorities suspect that the accused may have been involved in similar misconduct for several months, though an in-depth investigation is still underway.
Commenting on the incident, K. Shanmugam, Chief Educational Officer of Pudukottai district, assured strict action against the accused.
Police and child protection authorities continue to investigate the case to determine if more students were affected.
In light of this, BJP TN Chief Annamalai took to his X handle to slam the state government for its failure to protect the school girls. He wrote, “An assistant principal of a government school in Pudukkottai district has been arrested for sexually harassing 7 female students. In every district of Tamil Nadu, female students continue to be subjected to sexual harassment. Three years have passed since the schools promised to set up advisory committees to ensure the safety of students. The fact that these committees are not functioning in any of the schools shows that schoolgirls continue to be subjected to sexual assault. Only after calling the national emergency helpline number 1098 for child protection, action has been taken. The DMK government has completely failed to protect our school going girls. Even after all these crimes, no action has been taken to ensure the safety of school students. The Minister of School Education, Mr. Anbil Mahesh, has no moral right or qualification to continue as a minister. Mr. Anbil Mahesh should resign from the post of School Education Minister immediately. I urge the Chief Minister to immediately appoint another competent and child-friendly minister to the School Education Department and ensure the safety of school children.”
புதுக்கோட்டை மாவட்டம் அரசுப் பள்ளியில், மாணவிகள் 7 பேருக்குப் பாலியல் தொல்லை அளித்த பள்ளி உதவித் தலைமையாசிரியர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார். தமிழகத்தின் ஒவ்வொரு மாவட்டங்களிலும், தொடர்ந்து பள்ளி மாணவிகள் பாலியல் தொல்லைக்கு உள்ளாக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றனர்.
பள்ளிகளில் மாணவ மாணவியர்…
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) February 19, 2025
(With inputs from Times Of India)
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