The Hindu : Front Page : School ransacked by relatives of abuse victim

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Thursday, Mar 20, 2008
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School ransacked by relatives of abuse victim

Special Correspondent

— Photo: A.Muralitharan

SEEKING JUSTICE: Relatives and neighbours protesting outside the Montfort School on Aserkhana Street, Alandur in Chennai, seeking action against a teacher on Wednesday.

TAMBARAM: Relatives and neighbours of a girl studying in VIII standard in a private school in Alandur ransacked the school on Wednesday for alleged sexual abuse of the 13-year-old girl by the yoga instructor.

Trouble began at 2 p.m. when the group forced its way into Montfort School on Aserkhana Street, Alandur, seeking action against Maria Michael Joseph, the 43-year-old yoga instructor and English teacher. It damaged doors and window panes, furniture in classrooms and library and statues. No one was injured.

The instructor allegedly molested the girl during yoga training sessions on more than one occasion and is reported to have contacted her over phone. On Tuesday, a relative of the girl gave a complaint to the school authorities narrating how she was sexually abused and sought action against the teacher.

As the news spread, her relatives, neighbours and members of the Tamil Nadu Touhit Jamat entered the school premises. They left the school premises only after the police from St. Thomas Mount police station arrived. The protesters continued to raise slogans against the teacher.

The teacher was taken to the police station and remanded to judicial custody by an Alandur court. He was booked under Section 354 (assault on woman with criminal intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code and Section 4 (1) of Tamil Nadu Prevention of Harassment to Women Act, the police said.

School authorities declined to comment. The violence could have been avoided had the school authorities acted promptly on the complaint, the police said.

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