Suspended school teacher booked under POCSO Act 2012

COIMBATORE: A government school teacher, who was placed under suspension for allegedly sexually harassing some students, was arrested on Saturday under the POCSO Act, police said. The computer science teacher, C Vijay Anand of Government Higher Secondary school at Vellalore, was suspended pending an inquiry into the complaint by some girl students that he used to touch them and send obscene messages during online classes.

Some students and parents had blocked the road seeking action against the teacher, on Friday. Based on a complaint, police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested him this morning.

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Cybercrimes towards children increased 260 percent in 2020, suggests data shared by Smriti Irani, minister for women and child development. She shared the data while responding to a question in Lok Sabha during the 2021 winter session of Parliament. Children started receiving school education online due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the same period. Children were taught via video-conferencing software and messaging apps.

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Recently, teachers of a government school in Rajasthan were booked as five girl students accused them of gang rape. The Police suspected it to be a case of "revenge" and "witness harassment" by a former teacher of the school, who was previously arrested on charges of molesting three girl students. According to them, the students who have complained refused to undergo a medical examination.