Parents thrash teacher accused of molesting 8-year-old in Bangalore

Bangalore: Angry parents and local residents in Bangalore burned school property and vehicles today and thrashed a teacher who was accused of molesting an 8-year-old.

The man, a physical education instructor at the private school located in West Bangalore, has been taken into police custody.

The trouble began when the police came to take away the man for questioning. The angry locals, who were protesting outside the school, attempted to beat up the teacher as the police were escorting him to the van.

When the policemen resisted, the mob set vehicles on fire. Stones and bottles were thrown and the angry crowd wrecked school property.

As a few policemen got injured in the violence, the police resorted to lathi-charge and even used tear gas. The locals retaliated, pelting the policemen with stones.

The situation is under control now and the area has been cordoned off.

Police Commissioner M N Reddi, who rushed to the spot, said there should be no "instant justice", and that the "courts would decide on the punishment for the accused".

Last year, Bangalore saw a spate of cases in which schoolgirls were sexually assaulted. The last case was reported in December, in which the attendant of a private school in east Bangalore was arrested. 

Angry parents took to the streets after at least four other incidents of sexual assault on schoolgirls. In July, thousands of parents held protests in the city after the rape of a six-year-old at Vibgyor International School, for which two gym instructors were arrested.

A month later, the police ordered a set of safety measures that included installation of CCTV cameras and GPS in school buses. Nearly 200 schools were booked in September for not following the guidelines.