A Sivaraman, 28, of Kaveripattinam, who was involved in the camp, has been charged under sections 5, 6, 9, and 10 of the Pocso Act and section 238 of the BNS Act. He has been dismissed by NTK and is currently on the run.
The 13-year-old victim, who was staying with relatives in Bargur, attended the camp from August 5 to 9. Sivaraman, one of the camp coordinators, allegedly assaulted her on August 9.
The victim reported the incident to a fellow student, who then alerted others. They took the matter to the principal, A Sathish Kumar, 39, of Thirupattur, but he dismissed their concerns.
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It is also reported that Sivaraman harassed another 12 girls during the camp. After the victims’ parents filed a police complaint on Friday night, the school education department and the district child protection unit began investigating the matter.
On Sunday, Sathish Kumar was arrested for attempting to cover up the crime. Additionally, arrests were made of the school’s correspondent I Samson Wesley, 52, teacher A Jenifer, 35, retired CRPF personnel V Subramani, 54, and others involved in the unauthorized camp. Sivaraman and another suspect, Sudhakar, are still at large.
SP P Thangadurai indicated that four special teams have been formed to locate the missing suspects and to investigate if other camps conducted by Subramani and others were also unauthorized.
District Child Protection Officer D Saravanan reported that they are gathering statements from students and planning a sensitization program on the Pocso Act for private schools in Krishnagiri district. Collector KM Sarayu added that counselling will be provided to affected children and emphasized that proper procedures were not followed for the camp.
As news of the case spread, over 50 police personnel were deployed around the school. District Education Officer R V Ramavathy will submit a report to the school education department. For concerns related to child welfare, the child helpline (1098) and police control room (100) are available.
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