After three days of furore, the Negamam police in Coimbatore arrested the headmaster of a primary school near here for alleged sexual assault on minor girls.
The arrest of the headmaster, A. Makaliappan (52) from Vinayagar Nagar near Sulthanpet in Coimbatore, came in the wake of an inquiry conducted by the District Child Protection Unit which found that he had allegedly subjected three minor girls to sexual assault in school.
Makaliappan was arrested late on Wednesday for offences under Sections 9 (f) (whoever being on the management or staff of an educational institution or educational institution, commits sexual assault on a child in that institution), 9 (l) (whoever commits sexual assault on a child more than once or repeatedly), 9 (m) (whoever commits sexual assault on a child below twelve years) read with 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
According to the police, Makaliappan was working as headmaster of the panchayat union primary school on Pollachi-Palakkad Road as headmaster for 10 years.
On February 2, the District Child Protection Unit received information on alleged sexual harassment by the accused on girl students. Sudhamani, a counsellor with the District Child Protection Unit, went to the school and conducted an inquiry. During the enquiry, three students gave statements accusing the headmaster of having touched their private parts.
The officer later lodged a complaint with the police which led to the headmaster’s arrest around 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The arrest of the headmaster comes in the wake of a series of protests by the parents of students since Monday evening.
On Tuesday, the then Coimbatore Chief Educational Officer P. Ayyanan ordered the transfer of Makaliappan and said that departmental inquiry would be initiated against him. Makaliappan was transferred to a nearby primary school, although he was on medical leave when the transfer order was issued.
Hours after the transfer of the headmaster, the Department of School Education issued an order transferring Mr. Ayyanan to Namakkal on Tuesday evening.
A total of 32 students, comprising 17 girls and 15 boys, are currently studying in the primary school according to education officials.