Andhra Pradesh student alleges sexual assault by school principal

RANGA REDDY - A girl studying in eleventh standard of the prestigious Parkwood International School at Vikarabad in Andhra Pradesh’s Ranga Reddy District has levelled allegations of rape and molestation against the school’s principal Mohammad Salahuddin Ayub.

The victimised girl while talking to the media on Friday recalled how the school’s principal sexually exploited her for over a year, due to which she was impregnated. The girl disclosed that principal Ayub had repeatedly raped her at his house due to which she had even sustained several injuries to her private parts.

Highlighting the perverted character of her principal, the girl alleged that Ayub had tricked her in order to satiate his carnal instincts.

“I joined the school in 2008. The behaviour of the Principal was not appropriate. He used to make girls sit on his lap, touch them in all places and hug them. One day, in 2010, he called me to his room on the pretext of helping me with studies, and served me a drugged soft drink. I fell unconscious after drinking it,” said the girl.

At the outset, the victim had not shared the details of the tragedy with her parents, fearing public humiliation and social stigma, due to which the principal Ayub’s sexual escapades remained hidden from her relatives.

Ayub was of a shady character, obsessed with physical intimacy with girls, the relatives of the victim girl student charged.

The girl’s uncle, Sheikh Abdullah, disclosed that Ayub used to deliberately stay in a room inside the girl’s hostel of the residential school, flouting all social, moral and ethical norms and guidelines.

“The principal lives in a room on the third floor of a block in the hostel where only young girls stay. Some lady teachers also stay in the same block. He continues to live within the girl’s hostel like a bachelor,” said Abdullah.

“I would like to know how is it that he was allowed to stay there, flouting all rules and moral guidelines,” he added.

Condemning Ayub, concerned parents, students and many others expressed solidarity and support with the victim and maintained that they would continue their fight for justice. Meanwhile, the accused was taken into custody by the local police and produced before a court in Hyderabad, where legal action has been initiated against him.

Officials said that the court had remanded Ayub to judicial custody till August 5.

Ayub has been charged under sections 376 (pertaining to rape and sexual assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, according to reports.

The school administration, however, dismissed the allegations and maintained that it was a sinister ploy to defame the academic institution. (ANI)