School principal held in Rajkot under POCSO

In a shocking turn of events, a principal of a Rajkot school was accused of molestation (inappropriate touch) on four school students. Rakesh Vashram, principal of Saraswati Shikshan Sankul near the city’s Hari Dhawa Chowk.

The complaint against Vashram was filed by the mother of a 14-year-old Class 8 student, who had apparently asked her mother to withdraw herself from the school.

Upon asking the reason, the student told her mother that on the afternoon of Mar 4, she and another student of Class 5 had gone to Vashram’s office to offer flowers to a deity’s photograph. According to the complaint, Vashram then sent the other student to go upstairs, and made an obscene comment towards the 14-year-old, extending his hand to shake her hand. 

The student talked about the incident to her friends and then went on to complain about it to two of her teachers. She was in turn advised by them to talk to her parents.

It was also mentioned that Vashram had also grabbed the student’s hand once before when she was distributing sweets on her birthday.

Upon learning about the incident, the parents contacted other parents whose children study in the same school. They learned that Vashram had also behaved inappropriately with other students from Class 5 and Class 8.

The parents collectively went to Bhakti Nagar police station in Rajkot where PI MM Sarvaiya filed the complaint and arrested the accused under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act).

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