Teacher held for sexually assaulting 17-year-old tribal student in Gujarat school

Dahod: A teacher was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a Class IX tribal student at a residential school in Gujarat's Dahod district, a police official said on Saturday.

The incident took place in a residential school for tribals in Khalta village and the accused has been identified as Kalpesh Baria, the Dhanpur police station official said.

"Baria called the 17-year-old student to his quarters in the Khalta ashramshala campus on Thursday evening on the pretext of cooking for him and made sexual overtures. He also grabbed her from behind. She managed to leave from the place only after she called her sister there," the official said.

"After her siblings, who study in the same school, found out about her ordeal, they informer their father. The family lodged a complaint against Baria on Friday and he was arrested soon after," he said.

Baria has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 75 (1)(i) (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), section 8 (sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The ashramshala is run by the state social welfare department.