School teacher in Akola held for allegedly sexually assaulting girls students

Nagpur: The Akola police in Maharashtra said they arrested a 42-year-old school teacher on Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting at least six school students and showing them pornographic content. 
The accused, Pramod Sardar, had been sexually exploiting his students for four months, said police. The incident took place in the Balapur taluka, around 300 km from Akola.
According to the complaint filed by the girl students, school teacher Sardar used to show them obscene videos on his mobile and then touch them inappropriately. The matter came to light after the child helpline received a complaint.
Following the complaint, local police and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) intervened into the matter promptly and visited the school on Tuesday, officials aware of the matter said.
Officials said that after an hour-long conversation with the students, they narrated the incident to the committee and dialed Ural police station.
Inspector Gopal Dhole of the Ural police station said, “We got a call from CWC members and dispatched a team to the school and recorded statements from students. They accused Pramod Sardar of showing them obscene photos and touching them inappropriately”.
School principal Ravindra Samdur said that four to five girl students were allegedly harassed by the accused teacher; however, they were not aware of the incident until the students narrated it to the teachers.
“I was shocked to know about it. If I had known about this, I would have been the first to act. It was when the CWC team visited our school and spoke to the girls that we came to know about the crime,” he said.
Akola superintendent of police (SP) Bachchan Singh said they have recorded the statements of the girl students and have arrested the accused teacher.
He has been booked under sections 74 and 75 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act. Further investigation into the case is underway.
Meanwhile, the district administration on Wednesday dismissed Sardar. The authorities also suspended the school headmaster, Ravindra Samdur, and Rajesh Hiraman Tayade, the centre head. 
B Vaishnavi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Akola Zilla Parishad, stated that the actions against the accused teacher, headmaster, and centre head were taken on Wednesday after the incident that came to light.
“This is a very shocking incident, and we demand the strictest action against the teacher. Also, all other school staff should be held accountable as this was going on in the school, so how can they be unaware,” said former member of the Women’s Commission Asha Mirje.