A female teacher of 40 working at a popular school in Mumbai was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy student repeatedly over the past year, local police said.
The married woman, who is a mother, is now in the dock for serious offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, and provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Until a statement was filed for this report, the school had not made any public statement in the case.
According to the investigating officers, the accused was an English teacher and had the student in her Class XI batch. While rehearsing for a dance performance to be conducted during the school's annual program in December 2023, she is said to have developed improper sentiments towards him. By January 2024, she had started communicating these sentiments in the form of sexually provocative behavior.
At first uncomfortable, the student began to distance himself from the teacher. In an effort to break through his resistance, the woman sought the help of a female acquaintance—someone who was not connected with the school—a police official revealed on condition of anonymity. That friend, also booked in connection with the case, allegedly attempted to persuade the teen by telling him that relationships between older women and younger boys were "becoming quite common."
The officer went on to disclose, "The friend of the accused told the student that he and his teacher were meant for one another," which eventually prompted the boy to agree to meet the woman again.
The suspect subsequently took the student in a vehicle to a secluded area. "She forcibly disrobed him and sexually assaulted him. When he began getting anxious in the subsequent days, she administered anti-anxiety drugs on him," the officer stated.
The police have since taken custody of the vehicle used in the alleged attack as part of the investigation.
Another officer further added that the teacher would also offer alcohol to the student before dropping him at luxury hotels in South Mumbai and around the airport of the city, where he was forced into sex.
The ordeal of the student was kept secret until his family saw the changes in his behavior and interrogated him. When they heard his story, they first decided to keep it under their hats and wait because the boy was about to finish school.
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