Ghaziabad school principal arrested after students accuse him of molestation

The principal of a government-aided school here was arrested on Tuesday after female students accused him of molesting them in a letter addressed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, police said.

In the letter, the girls have accused Rajiv Pandey, the school principal, of calling them to his office on some pretext and molesting them, police said.

Pandey also issued threats of ruining their educational career in case they speak to anyone about it, the girls have alleged.

DCP Rural Vivek Chand Yadav told PTI that the FIR was lodged under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the IPC on the basis of a complaint filed by the students’ parents.

Yadav said the school principal was arrested on Tuesday.

Girl students narrated the entire episode to their parents on August 21, police said. The parents, then, went to the school along with local councillor of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation Parmosh Yadav, they said.

They allegedly thrashed the principal due to which he sustained severe injuries, they added.

The parents lodged an FIR against the principal on the same day, while the school management also filed a cross FIR, police said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said, "The girl students of Ghaziabad wrote a letter in blood to the Chief Minister accusing their principal of molesting them. Why has no action been taken on the FIR lodged against the principal? The girl students also allege that a police officer scolded them, threatened them and made them sit at the police station for 4 hours.

“This serious issue should be investigated immediately. The government should ensure the protection of sisters and daughters,” the SP chief said.

On being asked about the SP chief’s comments, the DCP denied charges that the girls were detained for four hours or scolded by a police officer.

“Not a single girl student visited the police station. Only their parents went there,” the DCP said.

The CCTV footage of the police station has been monitored by senior officials, he said.