Mumbai, July 13: It was, perhaps, her desperation to cement her job as a teacher almost 20 years ago, that forced a woman, now aged 39, to give in to the sexual demands of the school principal. The nightmare of being molested on every working day, which began in 1988, finally ended on Sunday, when the teacher decided that she “can’t take it any more”.
Interestingly, the victim rushed to Sakinaka police station after seeing a video footage of the principal molesting a woman, her face blurred, in his room, being aired by a private news channel.
Hearing her out, the cops slapped charges of molestation against Ramshankar Shrivastav, 56, principal of Shivam Vidya Mandir and Junior College, Andheri (east).
“We have registered a case against the principal. We are now gathering evidence against him, on the basis of which he could be arrested,” said deputy commissioner of police (Zone X) KMM Prasanna.
In her statement to the police, the victim, who is married with two children, said that Shrivastav often used to call her to his cabin, and undressing himself, he used to touch her private parts. He often tried to undress her too. Whenever the victim attempted to put up resistance, he threatened to spill the beans and malign her image. He also used to constantly blackmail her with dire consequences. Scared and wanting to keep her reputation in tact, she kept mum and gave in to his demands, she told the police.
The victim told the cops that as far as she knew, the accused never filmed the act or clicked photographs of her. “We are talking to other teachers and staff members. A few of them told us that the principal used to demand sexual favours from other women employees too,” said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.
–Agencies