Seven govt school teachers held for molesting students

Seven government school teachers were arrested for allegedly molesting two Class 9 students in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district, police said on Friday.

The Kasdol police on Thursday arrested Devendra Khunte (38), Rameshwar Prasad Sahu (44), Rupnarayan Sahu (36), Mahesh Kumar Verma (37), Dinesh Kumar Sahu (38), Chadan Das Baghel (39) and Lalram Bervansh, all teachers at Government Higher Secondary School in Marda village, station house officer Kasdol Dinbandhu Uikey said.

In January 2018, Khunte had taken school students on a picnic, after which he allegedly took one of the girls home and molested her, the official said.

While Rameshwar Prasad allegedly made obscene calls to another girl student, five other accused also allegedly passed objectionable comments on the girls, he said, quoting the complaint.

Whenever the victims tried to complain about them, the accused allegedly threatened to fail them in exams, he said.

On Thursday, parents of the two victims raised the issue at the school management committee meeting and informed the principal about it.

Two separate FIRs were registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (prevention of atrocities) Act, the SHO said.