Teacher arrested for sexually abusing 6-year-old

Mumbai: A 35-year old teacher was arrested by the Malabar Hill police station yesterday for allegedly sexually abusing a six-year-old student.

Shivaji Tawde, a physical education teacher at Manav Mandir High School, allegedly followed a std II student to the washroom last Wednesday and sexually abused the minor. A police official from the Malabar Hill police station said, "After sexually assaulting the minor, he threatened the child and told him not to tell anyone of the incident."

After the incident, the victim of the attack began to act suspiciously, which was a cause for concern to his parents and teachers alike.

When asked repeatedly what was the cause for his behaviour, the child told his parents that a senior student had sexually abused him.

Realising the horrific experience that the child had endured, his mother informed the school authorities, following which they suspended a boy from std VII.

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"The school suspended my nephew thinking that he had committed the assault as he is very mischievous. However, my nephew refused to accept that he was involved and that's when the parents of the victim realised that the child was hiding something," said the uncle of the std VII boy.

The truth emerged only when his mother cajoled him into revealing the correct facts of the incident. "After the father went to work, the mother approached the child and asked him what had transpired. That is when the child finally cracked and said that his Physical Education teacher had sexually abused him and threatened him. He said the teacher threatened that he would throw the boy under a school bus," said a friend of the victim's father.

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"The police arrested Tawde from Ghatkopar. We had learnt that Tawde had married a year ago," said the relative.

Cops said that Tawde has been booked under Section 377 (Unnatural offences) and 507 (II) (criminal intimation) of the IPC. "He was produced in court and remanded to police custody till October 7. We are now investigating if Tawde had any other victims," said an officer.

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Schoolspeak
Meanwhile, when MiD DAY approached the school to enquire about the incident, TRK Verma, administrator of Manav Mandir High School, said, "We are not aware of the exact details of the incident. The parents of the victim approached us following which we expelled the student responsible. However, I am not aware that the victim has blamed the teacher."