Palghar school watchman held for 'sexually abusing' two minor boys

NEW DELHI: Police have arrested a 53-year-old security guard of a private school in Maharashtra's Palghar district for allegedly sexually abusing two male students, officials said. The alleged incidents occurred between June 15 and 20, the officials said on Sunday. The victims, aged 17 and 15, are students of the same school located in Virar area.

"The alleged incidents occurred in the canteen of the school," the Arnala police stated. The accused was arrested on Saturday evening, the police said. "After receiving a complaint from the school's manager, we registered an FIR against the watchman, Raymond Wilson Dias, under section 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 5, 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," the Arnala police station official said.

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Section 5 of the POCSO Act pertains to penetrative sexual assault. In August 2024, a male sweeper at a school in Badlapur in neighbouring Thane district allegedly sexually abused two four-year-old girls, causing a huge outrage and massive protests. The accused was killed in September last year in the 'retaliatory firing' by police after he allegedly snatched the gun from a policeman in a police vehicle.