T’puram: Ayiroor Police arrested a 46-year-old swimming coach for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a 14-year-old girl student at a private school in Varkala in Jan.Sarath Chandran, a native of Thiruvallam, was taken into custody from a private swimming training academy in Thrissur on Tuesday. He has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, police said.According to the complaint, the incident occurred when Chandran was working as a swimming coach at a private school in Ayiroor. He allegedly attempted to sexually assault the girl during a training session. The student reportedly screamed for help immediately after the alleged incident.The police said other teachers and the school management allegedly sent the coach away from the institution and attempted to settle the matter without reporting it to the authorities.The girl was reportedly left traumatised by the incident, following which her parents arranged counselling for her. Hospital authorities subsequently informed Childline about the matter. Subsequently, Ayiroor Police received a complaint from the childline on Sunday.The police also suspect that the school management kept the incident under wraps despite being aware of the alleged abuse. Action may be initiated against the teachers responsible for the same, sources said.Chandran was formerly a Navy officer and took up swimming coaching after resigning from service. He is also a gold medal winner at the Senior National Aquatic Championships.
