Kerala police on Sunday said they have arrested a 29-year-old private school teacher in connection with the death of a minor girl student by suicide here. The teacher was nabbed in Mumbai by a team after searching for him in Karnataka and Maharashtra with the help of the cyber cell, a senior police officer said.
The accused was brought here today and arrested after being questioned, the officer said. A case was registered against the teacher under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act days after the 12-year-old girl died by suicide.
The accused was charged with abetting the suicide, the officer said. The officer said the accused, upon learning about the girl’s death, entered Karnataka and the police hunted for him. Later, the police got clues that the accused was trying to cross into Maharashtra and go abroad, but was caught in Mumbai, the officer said. He said the police team would be seeking court permission on Monday to take custody of the accused for interrogation and evidence.
He said the team was trying to complete the investigation at the earliest and file a charge sheet as soon as possible. According to the police, the accused had sent inappropriate messages to the girl, a class eight student, through social media. Her parents came across the messages and warned the girl, the police had said.
Her father brought the issue to the notice of the school management, too, and it in turn took up the matter with the teacher, the police had said. “The messages were improper for a teacher to send to a 12-year-old student. The girl was suspected to have ended the life out of mental tension as her parents read the messages,” the police had said, adding that they could arrive at a conclusion only after a detailed probe.
The victim’s father had earlier told the media that his daughter ended her life following mental harassment by the teacher.
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