Tamil Nadu School Teacher Arrested After Class 9 Student Files Harassment Complaint: Report

Tamil Nadu student harassment case: Mudhukulathur Police have on Tuesday arrested a teacher of a government-aided school in Ramanathapuram district in connection with sexual harassment of a minor student. The accused was taken in custody based on a complaint filed by a class nine student.

*Trigger warning: This article contains details of physical abuse, harassment.

The accused, identified as A Habeeb Mohammed, was employed by the school as a Science teacher. He allegedly took mobile numbers from the students under the pretext of coaching them. The complainant stated that the 38-year-old would then call them up and talk inappropriately. He even asked students to come to his home for special classes.

The student who lodged the complaint revealed that if anyone refused, the teacher would threaten to lower their scores or fail them. He was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Ramanathapuram district police have urged other students who may have faced sexual harassment from the teacher to come forward and share details, the New Indian Express reported.

This news comes a day after the Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced guidelines like advisory panel, dress code and safety audit for schools, to ensure the protection of students from sexual violence. Police now have an audio clip of the Science teacher speaking to a schoolgirl and forcing her to come to his home. In his purported telephonic conversation with a Class 9 girl student, that went viral, the man is heard making an inappropriate conversation with the child and naming and making obscene comments about several other girls studying at the school. Further, the news report alleged that he had tried to coerce the child into sexual activity in exchange for better marks.

Several sexual harassment complaints at several educational institutes across Tamil Nadu have been reported in the past few months. Further investigation in the Ramanathapuram case is underway.