Working as a Science teacher at a government school near Annur in Coimbatore, for the last 23 years, Natarajan has been arrested on the 3rd of February, 2020 for sexually harassing female students. The accused Natarajan, had been teaching classes 6th to 8th.
According to the police, Natarajan recently touched a class 7th student inappropriately in the school. After the student took up the issue with the higher authority, he allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she pursued the case. The authorities did not take any action and hence the parents were compelled to approach the Thudiyalur All Women’s Police Station and file a complaint on Saturday, the 1st of February, 2020.
According to the complaint filed by the victim’s father, the student had informed about the incident to her class leader, who reportedly said that she has also been at the receiving end of such misbehaviour. As the two girls took the issue up with a female teacher in the school, she reportedly advised them to drop a complaint at the complaint box installed in the school premises. Following this, an inquiry was held and the students were allegedly forced to withdraw their complaint.
The Thudiyalur police have registered an FIR under sections 7 (Sexual Assault) and 8 (Punishment for sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and arrested the teacher. He has been remanded to judicial custody in Coimbatore central prison. As per reports, police suspect that at least six students might have faced harassment at the hands of Natarajan and have also roped in Child Welfare Committee to provide counselling and support to the affected students.
Furthermore, police had booked the principal and three teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sulur for allegedly sexually harassing two male students. According to the police, the boys were harassed on the pretext of frisking to check if they had mobile phones on them.
Author: Dyuti Pandya
