PUNE: A 29-year-old peon was arrested by the Chatushrungi police on Tuesday night on the charge of installing a cellphone with its video camera on, in the kitchen-cum-changing room for girl students in a city school.
“One of the girls spotted the cellphone when she and her five classmates went to the room to change clothes after their sports period on Monday (Jan 6). She reported the matter to the school authorities,” DCP (Zone IV) Himmat Jadhav told TOI.
The school authorities conducted an inquiry and reported the matter to the police on Tuesday evening after finding out that the cellphone belonged to the peon.
“We arrested the peon the same night after registering an FIR for offences under POCSO Act and voyeurism, and seized his cellphone. It will be given to digital forensic experts to establish details,” Jadhav said.
A senior official from the society that runs the school said, “We took immediate steps to inform the police after the incident was reported to us. The police are investigating the case. We have also reported this incident to the deputy director of education as well as the district education officer. Subsequently, we have terminated the person involved in this case.”
The school authorities had submitted documents of the accused for character verification according to the govt rules. A report from the police was awaited, the senior school official said.
The accused was on the school employees’ roll since 2015, the official added.
The girl students, all aged between 12 and 13 years, also reported the matter to their parents. On Tuesday, their parents approached the school authorities and had a long discussion on the development. The school authorities and parents reached the police station on Tuesday evening with their complaint.
“As of now, we don’t know if he (the dismissed school peon) did this before. We are investigating the case and we will probe this angle too,” Jadhav said.
