Chennai, March 29 (BPNS)

A 55-year-old teacher has been arrested in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu after a 13-year-old girl student in his class attempted suicide alleging that the teacher had molested her several times.

The girl, a student of Class VII complained to her parents that her teacher. D. Muralikrishna (55) was touching her inappropriately and even after she told him not to do so, the teacher was continuing with his indecent behaviour. 

The parents instead of supporting the child told her that it would have been her thought and that the teacher was old enough to be her grandfather to outrage her modesty and asked the girl to keep quiet.

Police said that this approach of the parents led the girl to extreme depression and later attempted suicide by drinking Varnish at her home on Saturday.

Following her suicide attempt, her parents complained to the police and the teacher was arrested on Monday. The SHO at Tiruvallam police in Vellore district booked the teacher under Sections 7 ( Sexual assault), 8 (punishment for sexual assault),9 ( aggravated sexual assault ), and 10 ( punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection for Children Under Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act of 2012.

Tiruvallam police also said that he was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act 1998 and arrested the teacher.

Police said that the condition of the girl is stable and she was recovering at the private hospital where she is admitted.