Teacher’s Dark Deed: Teacher Arrested in Shocking Sexual Assault of Six-Year-Old Girl
Puducherry(The Uttam Hindu): Puducherry Police arrested a school teacher for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl student of his school. The teacher identified as Manikandan, who is teaching at a private school was arrested on Saturday. The child is a Class 1 student in the private school where Manikantan teaches. The incident came to light when the girl complained of physical discomfort and was taken to a hospital, where doctors confirmed that she had been sexually harassed.
The girl's parents and relatives alleged that the school administration and police failed to take action despite being informed about the incident. Infuriated by this, over 200 locals and relatives of the child staged a protest and blocked the Puducherry-Cuddalore road, causing a three-hour traffic jam. On information, the police arrived at the scene and held talks with the protesters after which Manikandan was arrested.
The police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and are investigating. Earlier, three government school teachers of Tamil Nadu were arrested for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at Panchayat Union Middle School in Bargur, Krishnagiri district. The crime, which occurred in early January, only came to light on February 3 when schoolteachers visited the girl’s home to inquire about her prolonged absence.
During their visit, the girl disclosed the sexual assault, which reportedly occurred inside a toilet on the school campus. Following her revelation, the school’s headmistress and the block education officer filed a complaint, leading to the arrest of the three accused teachers on February 4. Krishnagiri District Collector Dhinesh Kumar confirmed that the girl is being provided mental health support by psychiatrists and psychologists.
The accused teachers have denied the charges but were suspended pending investigation. In another shocking incident, Tamil Nadu Police have arrested a science teacher at a government school in Yercaud, Salem, for sexually abusing ten female students. The accused, Ilayakannu (37), was arrested by Yercaud Police and charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Ilayakannu, who taught science to students in classes 10 and 12, allegedly assaulted ten girls. The incident came to light when one of the victims gathered the courage to inform the school’s headmistress and demanded action against the teacher.
The headmistress immediately reported the matter to officials of the Education Department and the District Child Protection Unit. Following this, an inquiry team visited the school and conducted investigations with the students. Preliminary inquiries confirmed that the teacher had abused ten students. Based on the complaint filed by the District Child Protection Unit, the Kondalampatti All Women’s Police Station registered a case under the POCSO Act and arrested Ilayakannu.
Further investigations are underway. The incident sparked outrage, with former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) expressing shock. In a social media post, he criticised the DMK government for failing to ensure students’ safety in government schools and called upon Chief Minister M K Stalin to take full responsibility for the incident.
