Class VIII student sexually assaulted by teacher at Basirhat

Kolkata: Police have arrested a teacher of a school at Barasat in North 24-Parganas on Wednesday on charges of molesting a student of the school. Police said the victim disclosed to her parents that she was subjected to sexual harassment at school.

The incident took place at Aswini Pally High (HS) School at Barasat. The accused teacher has been identified as Noor Islam who has been arrested by police.

It was alleged that the accused used to touch the girl inappropriately. Police have started a

probe in this regard.

The victim's family members told police that the girl, who is a student of Class VIII, was in a traumatised state when she returned home on Tuesday.

The victim girl initially did not say anything about the incident but when her parents repeatedly asked what happened to her, the girl broke down in tears and narrated the whole incident. She told her parents that this was not the first time she was subjected to sexual abuse

by the accused.

Her parents had informed the school authorities about the incident but no proper step was taken by the authorities in this connection, alleged the victim's family members.

The victim's family members also alleged that some of the school teachers visited the victim's house urging them to settle the matter within themselves.

The family members, however, lodged a complaint at the local police station on the basis of which police arrested the accused teacher.

The victim's family members also alleged that there was no proper security arrangement at the school.

The incident happened at a time when School Education department has issued an order to all the government-run or aided schools to set up Student Safety and Security Monitoring Committee (SSMC), with an objective to check any sort of physical

abuse on children.

State education department has issued various directives to all the schools - primary, upper primary or

secondary schools so that assault on school students can be checked.

The school authorities have been asked to constitute SSMCs, which would conduct sensitisation

programmes for the teaching and non-teaching staff on how to deal with the students.