A 44 year old physical education teacher of a government school in Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) was arrested on Friday on charges of sexual abuse. The accused – Bobby C Joseph – allegedly sexually abused his students. Bobby has been booked under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. 

The incident came to light after one of the students left a written complaint in a dropbox installed in the school by the Souhrida Club. The Souhrida Club works towards ensuring that the students can express their concerns easily and improving the interpersonal skills of the students.

Allegedly, the written complaint was left in the dropbox by a class 11 student. In his complaint, the student accused Bobby of sexual abuse. Another teacher saw the complaint and informed the principal immediately. 

Commenting on the incident, a District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) spokesperson said, “Nine more students then gave a written complaint against the same teacher for abuse. The school informed the District Child Protection Unit.” 

After learning about the allegations made against Bobby, the DCPU asked the school counsellor and teachers to talk to the students. The students told the teachers and counsellor that Bobby used to ask them to get intimate with each other as he watched. 

Following this, the statements of the children were recorded and the police was informed about the allegations. A senior official of the DCPU said that several students have accused Bobby of sexually abusing them, hence, the allegations do not seem to be stemming from personal enmity with the teacher. “We could see that it was genuine the way the students also spoke about the teacher’s misbehaviour towards other students,” said the spokesperson. 

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