Pune: Shocking Sexual Assault Allegations At Residential School, Director And Ex-Student Arrested

Ravet, 3rd February 2024: A 58-year-old director of a residential boarding school allegedly sexually assaulted a class 10 student studying in Ravet. Following a complaint filed by the victim’s student’s parents, Pimpri Chinchwad police have arrested the director and an ex-student who helped him.

An FIR has been registered in this regard at Ravet police station.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Swapna Gore said that the accused director goes to various districts of Maharashtra and encourages boys and girls through seminars to take admission in the residential school for classes VIII to XII. In the year 2021, he went to Yavatmal and took a similar seminar. After that, the victim girl’s father admitted her to a residential school in the ninth standard by paying Rs 2 lakh 26 thousand.

Presently around 75 girls and more than 100 boys are studying in this school from class VIII to class XII. Children studying here are prohibited from using mobile phones and contacting their families. Once a month parents can meet their child in person is the rule here. Therefore, children cannot inform their parents in time about what is happening here.

The accused director lives on the first floor of the girls’ hostel at the school. He repeatedly raped the victim when she was 14 years old. Initially, in 2022, he called the girl to the flat where he lived and tried to molest her. Then the victim objected and left the place. But then the accused started harassing the victim girl deliberately and threatened that he would call her family and tell them that you are having a relationship with the school boys.

In November 2022, he tried to rape the victim girl again. After that, a former student of the academy put pressure on the victim girl to establish a relationship with the director.

The director had shown indecent photos and videos from his mobile phone of several girls with him. After this, he continued to abuse the victim girl repeatedly. In August 2023, the victim girl insisted on taking her home to her father. She was then taken home. At home too, the girl was quiet from August 2023 to January 2024. When the parents took her into confidence and questioned her, the girl told this shocking incident to the parents.

The parents of the victim met Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Doifode and Swapna Gore and informed them about the incident with their daughter. After that a case was filed and both accused were arrested.

On 30 October 2014, a female student of the academy filed a complaint against the director at the Dehu Road police station that she was being sexually abused. A few days later, other female students studying in the same institute told the police that such incidents were also happening. Against this incident, various women and social organizations in the city held a march and demanded the arrest of the director. However, he absconded after the case was registered. Meanwhile, he had applied for anticipatory bail at that time. The Pune Court had then rejected his pre-arrest bail and police arrested him.

The number of victimized students in this case is likely to increase. Considering the seriousness of the incident, the Commissioner of Police has appointed Senior Woman Police Inspector Vanita Dhumal of the Crime Branch as Special Investigation Officer to investigate this crime.