Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A teacher was arrested for inappropriately touching female students in his school under the guise of saying, "You are like my daughter."
The matter surfaced after a 7th-grade girl first mustered the courage to complain to the Headmistress, leading other girls to speak up. The accused has been identified as Khaji Mujibuddin Nasiruddin (40, Mehmudpura, National Colony). The teacher would allegedly consume gutkha, lean his face close to the girls, and perform objectionable acts, such as hanging his glasses on their clothes and attempting to retrieve them.
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How did the incident come to light?
The headmistress of a school within the jurisdiction of the MIDC Cidco Police Station made a complaint. Since some teachers were on leave on January 8, the headmistress combined three classes into one. While she was interacting with the students, they initially complained that Khaji Mujibuddin would frequently beat them without reason.
During this time, a 7th-grade girl requested to speak with the headmistress privately. In her office, the student detailed the teacher’s long-standing misconduct. She revealed that he would pull girls toward him for no reason and touch them inappropriately while claiming they were like daughters to him.
She further alleged that he would lean in with his face full of gutkha and attempt to kiss them. If the girls tried to move away, he would grab their hands and hold them back.
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More girls speak out
Shocked by the girl's testimony, the headmistress took the other female students into confidence. Subsequently, six other girls came forward to talk about Khaji Mujibuddin's actions. They reported that he would deliberately tuck his glasses into their clothing. It was revealed that he had been committing these acts for over a year, threatening the girls to keep them silent.
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Family tries to suppress case
The headmistress immediately reported the matter to senior members of the institution, the Women’s Grievance Redressal Committee, and the Student Safety Committee. A committee was formed to verify the claims with all the girls. The institution then demanded an explanation from the accused.
The accused appeared before the management with his family on the evening of January 12. His family members reportedly defended his actions and urged the school to ‘settle the matter internally.’
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Police action & arrest
While the parents of the victims requested that the school lodge the formal complaint, the headmistress approached Senior Police Inspector Gita Bagwade at the MIDC Cidco Police station on Tuesday. Following the complaint, a case was registered against Khaji Mujibuddin under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, and he was arrested late that night.