TN: 11 held for sexual assault on teen, sexual abuse of 12 minors at fake NCC camp
The principal of the private school allegedly did not take the girl’s complaint seriously and the management decided to hush up the matter
Police have reportedly arrested 11 people for the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl and the sexual abuse of 12 other girl students at a fake NCC camp in a private school in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
The main accused is 28-year-old Sivaraman, the organiser of the fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp and the alleged perpetrator of the sexual offences.
The others who have been arrested include the school’s correspondent I Samson Wesley, principal A Sathish Kumar, two teachers, and six others.
The alleged sexual offences took place between August 5 and August 9 within the school premises.
Sivaraman, a functionary of the Tamil nationalist party Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), had reportedly approached the school’s authorities to conduct an NCC camp. The school did not have an NCC unit, and Sivaraman allegedly told them that they would qualify by hosting such a camp.
No background check done by school
The school allegedly did not conduct any background check before giving the group the go-ahead to conduct the camp within its premises. Forty-one students, including 17 girls, attended the three-day camp. The girls were accommodated on the first floor of the school auditorium and the boys on the ground floor. The school did not assign any teachers to supervise the conduct of the camp.
“The private school did not take the necessary permission to conduct the NCC programme. They just believed Sivaraman, who told them he was authorised to conduct the camp,” media reports quoted P Thangadurai, Superintendent of Police, Krishnagiri district, as saying.
The girls allege that they were lured out of the auditorium and were sexually assaulted.
Principal "ignored" girl’s complaint
The 13-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted told the police that she had complained to the principal on August 9, immediately after the camp. Sathish Kumar, however, did not take the matter seriously.
“The school management did not proceed with a complaint, and decided to hush up the matter. We booked a case after we received a complaint from the girl’s parents and began a probe into the matter,” said Thangadurai.
Sivaraman was on the run from the police for the past few days, and was arrested on Monday (August 19). He has been booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the BNS Act.
