Mumbai: A 31-year-old teacher, who conducted computer classes for students from Class 6 to 8 at a municipal school in Mahape, has been arrested by the Turbhe police for allegedly inappropriately touching as many as 14 girls studying at the school.
The accused, Lochan Parulekar, was arrested on Tuesday after being booked under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
According to police sources, the incident came to light on Tuesday, when one of the students, a teenager, raised an alarm about Parulekar inappropriately touching her on the pretext of imparting her computer skills during a class.
The incident occurred during the computer class conducted at the municipal school. After one student accused Parulekar of sexual assault, 13 similar cases surfaced, and the parents of all the 14 students approached the Turbhe police.
The specific charge under IPC against Parulekar is that of assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty (section 354).
The accused was produced in a local magistrate’s court and sent to police remand till March 2. An officer said Parulekar used to conduct extra classes on holidays; that is when he took the undue liberties. The police suspect the number of victims could be more and have requested others to come forward if they also had a similar experience.
Authorities of the education department of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation said the teacher was hired under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. He is not on the municipal payroll.
