Siwan teacher arrested on molestation charge

Patna: A teacher of a govt primary school was caught allegedly molesting an eight-year-old student during private tuition classes at his home in Siwan district. Enraged parents and locals dragged him out, stripped him naked, smeared his face with soot, garlanded him with old slippers and paraded him through the streets as a mark of public shame.The incident took place in a village under the Basantpur police station area. The teacher, a resident of a nearby village, had recently built a new house there, where he lived and conducted private tuition classes for children. For several days, parents had reportedly been hearing complaints from girls about inappropriate behaviour during these classes.On Saturday, a group of parents decided to verify the allegations by visiting his residence and allegedly caught him red-handed.

The angry crowd pulled him outside, removed his clothes and paraded him through the locality after stripping him naked. They attempted to take him towards the school premises, but the situation escalated when the accused lay down on the road in protest. Video footage of the incident later went viral on social media.A police team from Basantpur police station, led by the station in-charge, rushed to the spot after receiving information.

The police pacified the mob, rescued the teacher from further assault and took him into custody. People were urged not to resort to mob justice and to report such incidents to the police so that lawful and prompt action could be taken.At the police station, statements of the accused and the victim girl were recorded. The teacher was detained for interrogation but not formally arrested at that stage. Police said strict legal action would follow after completion of the investigation.The station in-charge told this newspaper that the teacher sustained minor injuries during the assault. “He was kept in police custody while the statement of the minor girl was recorded. He is a govt school teacher and used to give private coaching classes to students. The police have started an investigation into the case,” he said.