Kendrapada: A 35-year-old dance teacher of a govt high school in Kendrapada district was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old Dalit girl, a Class V student of the school. Police said the incident took place on Sept 15, when the girl accompanied the teacher for a cultural programme organised on Nuakhai. The accused allegedly molested the minor and later threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.The matter came to light 14 days later when the girl narrated her ordeal to her parents. Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother on Wednesday, police registered a case and launched an investigation.“Acting on the complaint, we investigated the matter and arrested the accused teacher under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,” the investigating officer said.Police said the accused was booked under provisions relating to wrongful confinement, assault, use of criminal force against a woman, sexual harassment and offences under the POCSO and SC/ST Acts.The accused was produced in a Kendrapada court on Wednesday. His bail plea was rejected and he was remanded in judicial custody, police said.
