Pune: The principal of a Beed school has been arrested by the police for allegedly molesting girl students in a classroom during the lunch break last Friday. According to the police, the accused had asked three girl students, two of who are 10 years of age, while the third is 14 years old, to remove their clothes. Later, he allegedly showed them obscene videos. He also threatened them with the fear of punishment if they disclosed the incident to anybody, according to the police.

The principal was produced in the sessions court at Beed and has been sent to police custody for a week. He has also been suspended from service for six months. Over 100 villagers of Dhorwadi have demanded strict action against the perpetrator. They also requested education department to fire him from the school.

Digamabar Sriram Shinde (37), the principal of the Zila Parishad school in Dhorwadi village of Wadwani Taluka in Beed district, molested three of his students when there was nobody at school. He has been arrested under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code for molestation, section 506 for threatening and relevant sections of Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Dilip Sagar, assistant police inspector, Wadwani, Beed, said, “One of the girl’s parents has lodged FIR. As per the FIR, on December 8, the accused called three girl students to an empty classroom. He closed the doors of the classroom and asked them to remove their clothes. However, the girls remained quiet out of fear. Finally one of them told her family, who then approached the cops.”