UP School Principal Suspended After Girl Students Allege Harassment

New Delhi: A 42-year-old principal of a government primary school here was arrested for allegedly making obscene gestures towards a class 5 girl student, officials said. Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena said Aasif Jamal, the accused, is the principal of a government primary school under Roza Police Station.

The matter came to light Friday, when the girl's family in a complaint alleged that the principal misbehaved with her in the classroom and gave her Rs 10 to buy her silence.

They said when they went to the school to inquire about the principal, other students also came up with similar tales of harassment.

The principal has been suspended and booked under sections of the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, police said. Basic Education Officer Ranveer Singh said that a villager had called him and informed him about the incident on Friday, after which he reached the school and spoke to the headmaster and girls studying there.

Singh said that a three-member committee has been formed, which will also have a woman member to probe the matter, after which departmental action will be initiated.