The English teacher’s nefarious ploy had saved him till one of his victims gathered the courage to meet the principal in person and narrate his ordeal, leading to the police complaint and his arrest.
Shocking details have emerged in the case of the sexual assault of 12 Sainik school boys in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu by a ‘paedophile’ teacher who was arrested on Tuesday.
Initial investigation has revealed that 35-year old Ravinder Singh’s alleged horrifying reality could have been exposed earlier, ending his victims’ continued nightmare, had he not been able to steal students’ letters to the school principal that revealed his monstrosity, from the complaint box. Local police say Singh had prevented at least four such accounts from reaching the authorities.
The English teacher’s nefarious ploy had saved him till one of his alleged victims gathered the courage to meet the principal in person and narrate his ordeal, leading to the police complaint and his arrest.
“He started sexually assaulting one student and gradually targeted other students, too. One of the victims gathered courage and told the principal about the teacher,” Jhunjhunu superintendent of police (SP) Gaurav Yadav said, revealing Singh had molested 12 kids in the last one year alone after joining the school in April 2018.
The SP said the teacher would first take the parents into confidence and obtain their permission to give their children private tuition alleging they were weak and would fail if not coached.
“The parents would then tell their children to go to him for tuitions. He would take extra classes at home where he would molest the children,” the police officer said.
Divulging his modus operandi, police said Singh used to intimidate, shame and blackmail his victims to give him information on his next targets– all in the range of 11 and 14 years– and to keep them quiet.
Seven children had initially corroborated the first student’s account to the principal, but four more boys stepped forward after the police started investigating the case.
One of the victims’ father said he was “shocked” to learn that children were not safe even in schools. “In our country, we respect teachers more than god,” he said.
The father also alleged a possible cover-up by the school. “It is impossible that school administration was unaware of what was going on. Were they not interacting with the kids at regular intervals?” he asked.
The Sainik School principal said he reported the matter “the moment” he came to know about it.
“There was no complaint made by any of the victim earlier. You can verify from all the students,” the principal said.
The Jhunjhunu SP said it was being probed if the school had any prior information about the goings-on.
The matter was raised in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal, who sought a lie detector test of the accused.
“At a time when girls too have been allowed to enrol in Sainik schools from the next academic season, such cases come as a shock. If boys are not safe in Sainik schools, how will the authorities ensure girls’ safety and security?” he asked.
A team of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also visited the school and would soon submit a report to the state government.
Meanwhile, all victims’ medical examinations have been done, statements recorded and arrangements for counseling made.
The accused was produced in court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody for two days.
The school is a feeder institution to the National Defence Academy. The aim of Sainik Schools is to prepare boys academically, physically and mentally for entry into Indian armed forces.
Prasanta Patnaik