JOIN USThe Talaghattapura police have registered a suo motu case against Arifulla D, the physical instructor of Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir, who has been accused of misconduct with girl students in the school.
The school had sent him on a “long leave” following complaints from students that they were not comfortable with his behaviour.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Ramanagar SP Anupam Agarwal said that an FIR was lodged on Monday. The complaint has been lodged under Section 12 of the POCSO Act, he said. Arifulla would be arrested soon, police said. An initial inquiry into the case by the Block Education Officer (BEO) South Zone-1 K Prakash had found that the case had much more to it than an incident of “staring” at the girls, as the school had maintained. A complaint against Arifulla to the principal was given by a high school student on July 21 and the school issued a warning letter to him on July 22. He was sent on leave from July 24, according to the school authorities.
Meanwhile, the accused has resigned from his post as the physical instructor in the school. A statement by the school authorities said the physical instructor resigned because “it was humiliating for him to continue” and that the “school accepts his resignation”.
Fr Edward Thomas, member of the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, said the school had communicated to the commission about the resignation of Arifulla. As for the police inquiry, he said the Child Welfare Committee has also assigned support staff to assist the police in the case.
He urged the government to ensure that every district has support staff who are aware of the provisions of the POCSO Act and could assist the police in speeding up investigation.