The manager of a private school was arrested on Monday for sexually assaulting a Class 8 student several times in Deoria, police said.
Circle officer (Sadar) Rajesh Kumar Reddy said the incident was reported to the police on Monday after which the accused school official, Devendra Kushwaha (42), was arrested and booked under sections 64, 65 and 351, which prescribe punishments for rape and criminal intimidation, of the BNS and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The official said the 12-year-old girl’s father, a Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) jawan, lodged the complaint against Kushwaha.
According to police officials, the girl narrated her ordeal to her family and a doctor on Sunday. She alleged that the school manager used to call her to isolated areas of the school and sexually abuse her. When she resisted, he beat her and threatened to fail her in examinations.
“The accused school manager has been arrested, and an FIR has been lodged. A forensic team has collected evidence from the school premises. Strict legal action will be taken,” the police official said.
In another case, the management of a girls’ high school in the Baghauch Ghat area of Deoria has initiated a probe against the school’s principal for harassing a Class 9 student. Om Prakash Lal Srivastav, the school manager, said, “We have recorded the victim’s statement and informed the police for necessary legal action against the accused school principal.”