Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police, Thursday, arrested a teacher for allegedly abusing minor student sexually and mentally. The victim is a student of Class VI of a private English medium school under Shree Lingaraj Police limits in the city.
The accused, identified as Sanjay Pattnaik, was the Mathematics teacher of the same school where the victim studies.
Police sources said that the victim’s mother lodged a complaint with the police, Tuesday, alleging that the accused teacher was harassing the girl physically and mentally for the last four months. She also accused that the teacher had misbehaved with the girl and touched her inappropriately. He reportedly tried to lure the girl to go on a trip with him.
The accused had allegedly threatened the girl of dire consequences if she dared to reveal the matter outside.
Police sources claimed that the authorities at the school tried to hush up the whole episode by offering money to the victim’s family. However, the matter came to fore when the complainant found the girl crying in her room Tuesday morning during school time. Upon asking, the victim narrated the whole episode to her mother.
Meanwhile, some alleged conversation between the teacher and victim went viral on social media exposing the accused further.
Later, police initiated a probe into the allegations by registering a case (38/20) under various sections of IPC, POCSO and the Juvenile Justice Act. Police, after finding prima facie evidence established against the accused, arrested him Thursday. He was later sent to judicial custody after the rejection of his bail plea.