Salem: Sexually abused girl tries to kill self, teacher held

Salem: A 13-year-old girl, studying class eight in a government-aided school near Ammapet in Salem, attempted suicide by consuming pesticide after she was subjected to sexual harassment by a physical education teacher.

This incident triggered protests by around 200 irate parents, who resorted to road roko for over four hours on Wednesday demanding action against the teacher. Police then used mild force to disperse them from the spot.

Police said D. Prabhu, 38, working as a physical education teacher in the school at Boothapadi took class eight girls for a kabadi match in Tirupur and returned around 10.30 pm on Sunday.

“It was then Prabhu had misbehaved with the victim, who on reaching home had reported the matter to her parents. Parents of the girl warned Prabhu against his inappropriate. On Tuesday, Prabhu scolded the girl for reporting the issue to her parents,” police said.

Depressed over the developments, the girl consumed pesticide on reaching home and was rushed to a private hospital in Coimbatore. Ammapet police have secured Prabhu and enquiries are on.