Chennai: School head sexually harasses plus-1 boy
Cops act after protest by students.
Chennai: Police initiated investigation on Tuesday into a case of sexual harassment of a plus-1 boy by the correspondent of his school in Tiruvottiyur.
Forty-year-old Arockiya Raj who joined the school as a correspondent about three months ago, allegedly sent voice messages, demanding sexual favours from the teenager. The boy is a student of Paul’s Mahajana Higher Secondary School, police said.
“The student is from a poor family and the correspondent had bought the boy a uniform and a mobile phone,” a police officer said.
According to a relative of the student, the boy joined the school two months ago. “He started receiving sexually explicit messages and voice messages from the correspondent. He tried evading his requests, but the man persisted,” the relative told DC.
On Monday, students of the school learnt about the harassment and staged a protest inside the school premises demanding ouster of the correspondent. Police sources said that protests continued on Tuesday too.
“Around 200 students gathered on Sathangadu road and started walking towards the assistant commissioner’s office on Tiruvottiyur High Road, creating a traffic jam,” a police officer said. The boy’s mother filed a complaint with police after which a case was registered. The students dispersed after being pacified by senior police officials.
School authorities said that they are cooperating with police officials regarding the enquiry.