‘Victims facing pressure, probe delayed’: call for accountability in Pocso cases reported in Punjab schools

Rajesh Kumar, the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) in Punjab’s Tarn Taran recently wrote to the Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights alleging that a government school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a minor was released by the police without taking proper action.

According to the letter sent on September 23, a complaint and a pen drive containing a video were submitted by the principal of a Government Senior Secondary School for Boys on September 19. The video allegedly shows a science teacher at the school engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

The DCPO stated that the video and the complaint were immediately forwarded to the Station House Officer (SHO) of the local police station through WhatsApp, with directions to register a First Information Report (FIR) and arrest the accused. “The SHO informed later that the accused had been arrested and brought to the police station,” the letter said.

However, the DCPO claimed that on September 23, it was learned through the Sub-Divisional Education Officer that the accused was released without any legal action and had even resumed his duties at the school. When contacted, the SHO reportedly told the DCPO that no further action was taken because the child in the video could not be identified.

Alleging negligence by the SHO, the DCPO said in the letter, “The video clearly shows the accused…sexually exploiting a minor child while another minor records the video. Whether the child is identified or not, the act of sexual exploitation is evident.”

The letter requested the Commission to take note of the alleged negligence by the SHO and issue necessary directions. Copies of the letter were also sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Tarn Taran.

Two days after the letter was sent, the Director of School Education suspended the teacher on September 25. Earlier, the department had allowed the suspect to resume his duty without any departmental inquiry.

However, this is not the first time when the education department and the police have been accused of lenient approach in such serious cases.

FIR cancellation sought, but minor remains firm in court

On July 17 this year, a Hoshiarpur court ordered further investigation in a case registered against an English teacher at a government high school under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act following a complaint by a 13-year-old student of the school in October last year.

The FIR was registered on October 29, 2024, based on the seventh-grade student’s statement alleging that the male teacher called her during a school meal, touched her inappropriately and behaved indecently. The student stated that after the incident, she reported the matter to another teacher as well as her parents.

The police launched an investigation and recorded statements. The girl’s father produced her birth certificate, establishing her as a minor at the time of the incident.

A subsequent inquiry was conducted by the Superintendent of Police (SP), Operations, Hoshiarpur, following an application from the wife of the accused teacher. The police claimed that they found no evidence to support the allegations of harassment or obscene behaviour. The inquiry even suggested that the complaint may have stemmed after the girl was scolded over academic work as she was reportedly weak in English. Both the parents of the minor and other teachers asserted that no such incident took place, leading to requests for cancellation of the FIR.

Affidavits seeking cancellation were presented by the victim’s parents, and a police cancellation report was prepared and submitted to the trial court.

However, during the court proceedings, the girl reiterated her allegations and disagreed with the police’s cancellation report in a major embarrassment for the force as well as the education department. She firmly stated that the accused abused her as described in the FIR. After reviewing the case files and the girl’s statements, the trial court declined the police’s request to cancel the FIR and ruled that further investigation is needed to thoroughly examine the matter.

Now, almost a year later, neither the police, nor the education department has completed their inquiry against the teacher. “The teacher was chargesheeted. An inquiry is pending against him,” said Lalita Arora, District Education Officer (DEO), Hoshiarpur.

Girls ‘pressured’ to retract abuse complaint

In another case reported from a government high school in Hoshiarpur district earlier this year, girl students were allegedly pressured to retract their complaint of sexual harassment against a teacher.

Following this, activist Parvinder Singh Kitna wrote to the Hoshiarpur administration and police, warning that he would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court if the case was not properly investigated.

In his communication, Kitna stated, “There is a government school where a teacher has been engaging in inappropriate and objectionable acts with girl students. The matter has been brought to the notice of the school staff and others of the local area by the affected girls and their parents.”

He further urged the authorities to act swiftly, saying, “I humbly request you to immediately ensure appropriate and swift action against the accused teacher by registering an FIR against him. It must also be ensured that the accused or the staff members do not intimidate the victim girls or attempt to influence them to change their statements.”

Kitna also cautioned, “If no action is taken, I may be compelled to approach higher authorities, commissions, and the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court.”

DEO Arora said that the inquiry is pending in this case too.

When asked about minor students allegedly being forced to retract their statements against teachers in the two cases, she said, “We are always there for children. We take swift action.”

Meanwhile, Kitna recounted a case in Gurdaspur where a child reported an incident of sexual harassment involving a relative to her teachers. “Initially, the complaint reached the police, but later the teachers forced the minor to retract her statement against the relative. There is an urgent need to sensitise teachers and the education department about the seriousness of such cases,” he added.

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