BHOPAL: Sukhi Sewania police on Saturday claimed to have arrested the absconding school teacher, a 25-year-old man, who was charged with harassing a minor girl, a student of Class 11, due to which she died by suicide last month.
A police team tracked him down in Prayagraj, where he was hiding disguised as a sage. The police team also disguised themselves as sages and monitored his movements.
The accused took advantage of the crowd at the Kumbh Mela to evade arrest, but once he left for his hometown, the police team followed him and nabbed him from his native village in Bihar.
According to Sukhi Sewania SHO Rambabu Choudhary, the victim girl was a Class 11 student. On the intervening night of January 25 and 26, she consumed rat poison at home. When she started vomiting, her family rushed her to the hospital, where she later died. Before passing away, she revealed to her father that her teacher, Nitesh Kumar Dubey, misbehaved with her at school.
Three days later, police recorded statements from other teachers and students, confirming that the accused sexually harassed the victim on January 25. A case on charges of molestation and abetment to suicide was registered, and a police team was sent to arrest the teacher, but he already fled.
SHO Choudhary said that for over a week, police searched for the accused in Bihar, questioning his friends and gathering information. Eventually, police received intelligence that he escaped to Prayagraj. A team was dispatched to Prayagraj, where he was hiding in disguise as a sage. The police team too disguised themselves as sages and monitored his movements. As he left for his native village in Bihar, the police team followed him and arrested him.
The accused, Nitesh Kumar Dubey, is originally from Kaimur district in Bihar and was pursuing an MCA (2nd year) from a private college. While studying, he was also teaching at the school in the Sukhi Sewania area. The police have taken him into custody, and further legal proceedings are underway.