A senior lecturer in Bandipora district, North Kashmir, finds himself entangled in a legal predicament, facing serious allegations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident in question unfolded during a classroom session when the lecturer, whose identity remains undisclosed, allegedly tore the hijab of a 12th-grade student.
According to the Kashmiriyat, the lecturer is accused of harassing the student by forcibly removing her hijab in front of her peers after issuing threats and cautioning against wearing the hijab.
The student said that she had discussed harassment issue with her parents previously. “On one occasion, when my mother visited the school regarding the matter, the accused lecturer confronted and shouted at her and questioned her presence in the school premises”, she told local news agency Kashmir News Observer.
Official sources have confirmed that a case has been registered under FIR number 127 of 2023. The charges against the lecturer include violations of Section 354, which pertains to assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, and Sections 9/10 of the POCSO Act, which deals with sexual harassment and non-penetrative sexual assault of a child.
