Visually impaired teacher held for ‘molesting’ students

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One schoolgirl told a female police staff that their Hindi teacher used to touch her indecently. A case was registered and the teacher was arrested. More students came forward with similar complaints later.

A POLICE OFFICER

NEWDELHI:A 40-year-old partially visually impaired teacher of a government school in north Delhi was arrested last week for allegedly molesting several of his students over the last one year, police said on Thursday.

Police said two FIRs were registered against the school teacher – first on February 9 on the complaint of a girl student and the second on February 12 on the complaint of a boy and over a dozen students of the school.

They said more complaints have been received against the teacher after that between February 12 and February 15.

Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), said the school teacher was arrested on February 10, a day after the first FIR was registered against him on a schoolgirl’s complaint. “He was produced before a city court, that sent him to jail,” said DCP Khan, adding the complainants are students of Class 6 to Class 11.

According to the DCP, the shocking revelations of child abuse emerged during a weeklong interaction of students with female police personnel who visited the school under the Delhi Police’s ‘Operation Nirbheek.

This scheme was launched in 2015 to make school and college girls aware of sexual crimes and educate them about ‘good touch and bad touch’.

“One schoolgirl told a female police staff that their Hindi teacher used to touch her indecently. A case was registered on her complaint and the teacher was arrested,” the officer said, adding more boys and girls of the school came forward with similar sexual harassment complaints against the teacher.

As more complaints are being received almost everyday, the custody of the teacher would be secured through the concerned city court for further questioning, said police.

The teacher lives with his wife, who too is physically disabled, in north Delhi and had been teaching for the last ten years.