Harassment of girl students: Principal of Haryana school arrested

Chandigarh: A government school principal in Haryana's Jind district has been arrested for alleged sexual harassment of over 50 girl students, police said on Sunday.

"The accused principal was arrested on Saturday," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Amit Kumar Bhatia, who heads a five-member Special Investigation Team probing the case, said over phone.

"He had been on the run for five days, but our teams arrested him. He will be produced before a court (in Jind) and we will be seeking his police remand to conduct further investigations," he said.

Over 50 female students of the government school in Jind district had accused the principal of sexual harassment, the Haryana State Commission for Women had said earlier.

The Haryana Police had on Monday booked the school principal, days after he was suspended by the Jind administration over allegations of sexual harassment.

The State Commission for Women's chairperson Renu Bhatia had earlier told reporters in Panchkula, "We have received 60 written complaints against the principal from the girl students. Out of this, 50 are complaints from girls who stated physical abuse at the hands of the accused. Ten other girls, in their complaint, said they knew the principal was into such things."

The police in Jind district on Monday registered a case against the principal under Sections 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police had said earlier.

Bhatia had said that all the complainants were minor.The victims alleged that the accused used to call them to his office and "indulge in obscene acts", she had said.

A group of girl students of the school had also reportedly recently shot off letters to the Prime Minister's Office and National Commission for Women detailing their ordeal, sources had said.

About the nature of allegations made by the female students, Jind Deputy Commissioner Mohd Imran Raza had a week ago said they have alleged that the principal used to "indulge in obscene acts" with them.