G. Rajagopalan, 59, teacher of a reputed school in the city was arrested by the Chennai police on charges of sexually harassing girl students, and was remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday.
Allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against the teacher of the school had circulated on social media on Sunday night and soon went viral.
On Monday afternoon, the teacher was picked up by the city police’s special wing for crime against women and children from his residence at Nanganallur. A special team, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner, Crime Against Women and Children, H. Jayalakshmi, and Deputy Commissioner, T. Nagar, D.N. Hari Kiran Prasad interrogated Rajagopalan. His laptop and mobile phone were seized from his house and scrutinised for electronic evidence.
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Sources said Rajagopalan was working with the school for the last 27 years. He was presently teaching accountancy and business studies for class 11 and class 12 students. He had access to the mobile phone numbers of girl students and had shared obscene content, besides asking them to send their pictures and videos to him. During an interrogation, he confessed to his inappropriate behaviour with girl students, the police said.
After receiving a complaint from a victim whose identity was not revealed, police recorded her statement late on Monday night and later, a remand report was prepared. Rajagopalan was booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
On Tuesday morning, he was produced before T.H. Mohammed Farooq, special judge for exclusive trials of POCSO cases and Rajagopalan was remanded to judicial custody till June 8.
Meanwhile, the city police have asked that the names of complainants/aggrieved parties not be revealed, since it is a crime against children.
Summons issued
The Child Welfare Committee (Chennai South) has issued summons to the dean and principal of the school where Rajagopalan was employed. Rajkumar Muthukrishnan, chairperson, said they had been asked to appear before the CWC on May 31.
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), in a press release, said they had issued summons to the school director, the principal, the chief educational officer, the person who shared the allegations on social media and Rajagopalan, asking them to appear before the commission on June 4.
R.G. Anand, member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in a letter to the Director General of Police Tamil Nadu, said they had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue based on newspaper reports, and asked for strict action to be taken under the relevant sections of the POCSO Act. “An action taken report along with authenticated copies of relevant documents may be shared with the commission within three days of the receipt of this letter,” Mr. Anand said. He has also called for the students to be provided with counselling and psycho-social support.
