Chennai school teacher accused of sexual harassment arrested under POSCO Act

A teacher of a prestigious school in this metropolis, who was accused of sexual misconduct by his students, was on Tuesday sent to 14-day judicial custody after he was arrested by the police on various charges including under the stringent POSCO Act.

G Rajagopalan, who teaches accountancy and business studies and was placed under suspension by the school on Monday, was shown as arrested by the All Women Ashok Nagar Police Station in the city on Tuesday morning. After the arrest, he was produced before a magistrate who sent him to judicial custody till June 8.

Even as he was lodged in Puzhal Central prison, police sources said several students have come forward to lodge complaints against Rajagopalan on charges of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Many students have accused the 59-year-old Rajagopalan of conducting online classes by just draping a towel over his waist. Some of them even shared screenshots of Rajagopalan taking online classes with just a towel around him.

Read | Students allege sexual misconduct by teacher in Chennai school

Police said Rajagopalan was booked under Section 11 and Section 12 of the POSCO Act. While Section 11 deals with sexual harassment upon a child, Section 12 says whoever commits sexual harassment upon a child shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to a fine.

Sections 354 (a) (Sexual Harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) and 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any words, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 67 and 67(a) (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) under the IT Act have also been slapped on the teacher.

Meanwhile, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) sent summons to the principal and dean of the school to appear before it for an enquiry on the issue on May 31.

Several students, who are minors, are understood to have narrated their harrowing experiences with an alumnus who uploaded some of the screenshots of her conversation on Instagram on Sunday.