Surat civic school principal held for 'sexually harassing' student

SURAT: The principal of a municipal school in Surat city of Gujarat was arrested on the charge of sexually harassing a teenage male student, police said on Sunday. The arrest was made on Saturday night, days after the accused, Nishant Vyas, was suspended as the school principal following a complaint by the school authorities, they said.

The victim, a 14-year-old boy, studies in Class 8 in the school, they said. In the complaint, Vyas has been accused of allowing the harassment of the student in his presence. A video that surfaced on social media shows that the victim was being harassed with his clothes removed. An FIR against Vyas was registered at Puna police station on July 19, and he was booked under section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that deals with sexual harassment, an official said.

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"The accused was arrested on Saturday night after the police received information regarding his whereabouts. He had been absconding ever since the FIR was filed against him," the official of Puna police station said. As per the FIR, the accused allowed recording on his mobile phone the harassment of the boy, whose clothes were removed, while other students were making fun of him.

Vyas had been suspended following the complaint by the victim's parent on the basis of the video. An employee of the school had lodged the police complaint against Vyas based on an inquiry conducted by the municipal school board. After the inquiry, he was transferred to another school before being suspended.