Nine Class VIII Students Arrested for Sexually Harassing Schoolmate in Thoothukudi
· India · The Hindu, NDTV
Nine Class VIII students of a government higher secondary school in Thoothukudi district have been arrested under the POCSO Act for sexually harassing a schoolmate over an extended period. Five were arrested on Tuesday and four on Wednesday after the victim's parents lodged a complaint at the Vilathikulam All Women Police Station. Police said the accused students had been harassing the victim since they were in Class VII and had threatened him with further harassment if he reported the incidents. A teacher who learned of a recent incident on school premises informed the boy's parents, who then approached the police. All nine students were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and lodged at the observation home for boys in Tirunelveli, with further investigation under way.
Why it matters
The case points to repeated peer-on-peer sexual abuse in a school setting that went unreported for over a year due to victim intimidation, raising questions about safeguarding mechanisms in Tamil Nadu government schools. The use of POCSO against juveniles places the accused in the juvenile justice system rather than adult courts.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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