Bhopal School Sealed After Teacher Sexually Harasses Minor: Police

Bhopal district administration authorities sealed a private school on Thursday after a minor girl was allegedly sexually harassed by her teacher on the school premises, police said.

According to officials, authorities were also going to cancel the school's affiliation in connection with the incident.

"We have sealed the school building, and the process to cancel its affiliation has been initiated. The order will be issued in the next few hours. A committee has also been constituted to investigate the matter, and we will complete the probe within two days," said Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Archana Sharma.

Meanwhile, a group of people, including parents of students attending the school and members of various social organisations, staged a protest outside the school over the alleged sexual harassment incident.

Some protestors vandalised the school's signboard and burnt an effigy of the accused outside the campus. The protestors were heard demanding capital punishment for the accused.

Earlier on Wednesday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav condemned the incident and ordered strict action against the accused.

CM Yadav posted a video on X, writing, "A case of rape of a three-year-old girl by a school teacher in Bhopal has come to my notice. I have instructed that strict action be taken. Additionally, I will ensure justice is served in this case through a special court. This act is extremely disgusting, shameful, and condemnable."

The accused school teacher was arrested following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents.

According to police, a complaint was filed at Kamla Nagar police station regarding sexual harassment of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl. Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case against the accused under sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act.

"The accused is a teacher in the same school where the girl studies. He has been identified and arrested," Bhopal Commissioner of Police Harinarayanchari Mishra told ANI.

"Since the victim is very young, it took some time to uncover the incident, but once we received the complaint, we immediately took action and arrested the accused. The accused has been identified as Kasim Rehan," he added.