POCSO court convicts teacher for sexually harassing students at Chennai school

A court in Tamil Nadu has convicted and sentenced a school teacher to two years rigorous imprisonment for sexually harassing minor students at a Chennai school in 2021.

According to an NDTV, the convicted teacher, who was earlier suspended from the PSBB (Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan) School in Chennai following allegations from eight current and former students, was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).

The Court also imposed a fine of ₹80,000 on him.

The accused Rajagopalan, a commerce teacher at the school, was booked for sexual harassment by several students in May 2021. The allegations included sending inappropriate messages to children, appearing half-naked during online classes and making obscene comments toward students.

At least seven students provided detailed statements to the police about the harassment they faced from the teacher, according to a 2021 report by The News Minute.

Following the complaints, Rajagopalan was arrested by Chennai police after current and former students filed formal complaints.

Thereafter, a first information report (FIR) was lodged under sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act along with charges under Sections 354(A) (sexual harassment) and 509 (insulting modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act for transmitting obscene material.