Villagers in Mangaluru’s outskirts express anguish over delay in arrest of teacher accused in POCSO
Mangaluru: Residents of Kallamundkur village express dismay over the delayed arrest of a teacher accused of sexual harassment at the local government school under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident came to light when the school's Headmaster lodged a complaint at Moodbidre Police Station on March 13 against the accused teacher, Guruva Mogera, a resident of Dharmasthala in Belthangady taluk. The complaint alleged that Mogera had sexually harassed female students of the school on February 28. Subsequently, a case was registered against him under the POCSO Act at the Woman’s Police Station in Mangalore.
An inquiry was conducted by officials from the education department, child welfare authorities, and officers from the Woman’s Police Station. During the inquiry, students provided written testimony against the accused teacher.
Former President of the Old Students Association, Dhananjay, criticized the police department for negligence in apprehending the accused. He also noted the reluctance of locals to take further steps, attributing it to the support Mogera receives from his own caste community. Dhananjay emphasized that no group or community should shelter a criminal who has harmed children.
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Reports from local media indicated that Mogera was freely moving around the village even after a case was filed against him on March 14. This prompted the police and other concerned departments to intensify efforts to locate the accused, who had gone missing.
Dayanand, another member of the community, highlighted that even former students had come forward to accuse the teacher of sexual harassment. He criticized the delay in the arrest, attributing it to what he perceived as the police department's negligence.
In response to the concerns raised, Panambur Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manoj Kumar Naik assured that police teams were actively working to apprehend the accused. Naik stated confidently that Mogera would be arrested soon.
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AAP questions BJP on continuing alliance with JD(S) after 'sex scandal'
New Delhi, Apr 29: AAP on Monday called the alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna of the JD(S) "worse than the Nithari serial murders" and questioned why the BJP did not sever ties with the southern party after the incident came to light.
Prajwal Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate from Hassan, which went to the polls on April 26.
The 33-year-old is the son of HD Revanna, former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda's eldest son.
HD Revanna is currently an MLA and a former minister.
Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were circulated in Hassan in recent days.
A case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna on a complaint by their cook.
She alleged that four months after she started working for them, HD Revanna began to sexually harass her and Prajwal Revanna made video calls to her daughter and had "vulgar conversations" with her.
Former Delhi Commission for Women chief and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal appealed to the Election Commission to disqualify Prajwal Revanna and demanded that re-polling be conducted in the constituency.
"I am shocked how a man can be such a beast! He fled to Germany as soon as the elections were over! On whose behest did this man leave the country? I appeal to the Indian government that wherever this man is hiding in the world, he should be dragged to the country and strict action should be taken against him," she said in a statement.
"I also appeal to the Election Commission of India that this matter is so disgusting, it is such a big sex scandal that he should be disqualified from the elections and re-polling should be conducted on his seat," she said.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said there is no question of defending his nephew over the allegations and the party will take "merciless action" if the special investigation team probe proves the charges.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh questioned how Prajwal Revanna was allowed to flee the country.
"This is worse than the Nithari scandal. A former prime minister's grandson is involved in the matter. This is an incident of harassment and exploitation of women and I am surprised that the prime minister is silent," he said.
Calling Revanna's actions "height of bestiality", he said it was an extremely "shameful incident".
"What action should be taken in the matter? How did he flee the country? The prime minister should speak on it. How is JD(S) still a part of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance)? You speak about 'Beti Bachao' and women's safety. Women have been subjected to inhuman behaviour. This is one of the biggest rape scandals in the country," he said.
The Karnataka government has constituted a special investigation team to probe into the alleged sexual abuse of hundreds of women by the MP.
Stating that such incidents cause embarrassment to society as a whole, Kumaraswamy said there is no question of defending anyone.
"Wrong is wrong, irrespective of who has committed it," he said.
