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Rise In Child Sexual Assaults By Teachers In Mumbai Sparks Alarming Questions

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In recent days, incidents of sexual assault on minors or students by teachers in Mumbai have been increasing, which is a serious issue in society. A private tutor in Malad sexually abused a 7-year-old girl. The Dindoshi police have arrested the accused, a 44-year-old teacher from Goregaon who provided private tutoring to young girls at home. The victim, who lived in the same building, had been attending his tutoring sessions since August 2024. The accused lured her into his bedroom under the pretext of showing her games on his mobile and exploited her innocence to sexually abuse her.

After noticing behavioural changes in their daughter, the parents questioned her, and she revealed the horrific abuse. The teacher had been assaulting her for nearly a year, from August 2024 to July 9, 2025. On July 9, a 22-year-old karate instructor, who taught children, was arrested by the Shivaji Park police for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. On June 25, a 50-year-old teacher from a reputed coaching class in Bhayander was found to have sexually abused a 17-year-old FY BA student between October and November 2024.

In November 2024, Amit Dubey, 50, a school teacher in Nalasopara’s Santosh Bhuvan area, was accused of raping a 14-year-old student in his private class from October to November 2024. On July 3, 2025, a 40-year-old female teacher from a prestigious Dadar school was arrested for sexually abusing a 16-year-old student over several months, including taking him to a five-star hotel. There are several unreported incidents as well. 

Statement Of Uma Subramanian

Uma Subramanian, Co-founder and Director RATI Foundation & Child’s Rights Activist, stated, “I would not say the incidents are increasing, but they are now coming to light more frequently. The media is reporting them more prominently. People are shocked because these cases involve prestigious schools.”

She added, “Schools often scrutinise peons, drivers, and caretakers for character verification, but fail to check the backgrounds of teachers. This reflects a class and caste bias. When such cases arise, schools often deflect responsibility, claiming the incidents happened outside school premises or that parents are unwilling to file complaints. While every school has a child protection policy, most children and parents remain unaware of it. Schools may conduct awareness sessions but avoid taking legal action, shifting the burden onto parents. few come forward to file cases.”

“Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act mandates reporting offences against children. However, many cases go unreported because the legal process is traumatic for victims and their families. Filing an FIR takes 8-10 hours, medical examinations could span over days… frequent police station visits are required, and the judicial process is tiring. As a result, no one wants to go through the process, definitely not the big schools or the elite privileged folks. The law is robust and child-friendly on paper, but most systems are not. Also, the elite in India can get away more easily with anything, isn’t it?,” the activist said.

Psychologist Lisha Chedda’s Statement

Psychologist Lisha Chedda stated, “Usually, in such incidents, the accused follows a certain process called grooming. They spend time with the child, gain their trust, build rapport, and then abuse them. Two things severely impact the child mentally: their trust is broken, and they are left terrified. Often, people don’t believe the child after they disclose abuse, which further violates their trust. Sometimes, gender bias also comes into play—people may think, ‘If the victim is a boy, what could have happened to him?’ This is wrong. Abuse is abuse; it is sexual violence. The child may become traumatised and feel deep shame, which can be internalised.Chedda added, “Everybody has a stress response system: fight, flight, freeze, flop or fawn. These are natural reactions. Studies show that in sexual assault cases, most victims freeze. The child becomes extremely scared and often freezes. First of all, no one immediately believes the child. They keep questioning why the child didn’t scream or run away. The child’s response is not taken seriously.

The kind of response they receive from the adults around them affects their lifelong trauma. If the child receives mental health support, along with parental and school support, the impact on them can be much less severe.”

Advocate Persis Sidhva’s Statement

Advocate Persis Sidhva, stated, “The courts generally take these cases seriously. Parents send their children to school believing it to be a safe place. Schools must have and strictly implement a child protection policy. These policies shouldn’t exist just on paper – they need to be actively enforced. Parents need to be aware of the POCSO Act and that it mandates strict punishments, especially when teachers are the accused, as these cases constitute aggravated offences with harsher punishments.”

“In court, we often see that schools either lack commitment or frequently side with the accused to protect the institution’s reputation. This fear leads them to support the perpetrator, leaving children and their families without proper support. In most cases, schools fail to create an environment where the child and family feel comfortable continuing their education there. This often results in a significant loss for the child-first they suffer abuse, then they’re forced to change schools, while parents must deal with numerous additional challenges, including a legal case.” Advocate Sidhva added.

Crime

Two apprehended for firing at house in Nand Nagri to create fear

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New Delhi, Sep 14: The Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) of North-East District Police worked out a firing incident reported under the jurisdiction of Nand Nagri Police Station by apprehending two accused persons who allegedly fired at a complainant’s house to create fear.

The accused were identified with the help of extensive CCTV footage analysis and technical investigation.

According to police, on September 4, two unidentified persons riding a scooty fired at the complainant’s house in the Nand Nagri area with the intention of creating fear and fled from the spot.

Following the incident, FIR No. 485/26 dated September 4 was registered at Nand Nagri Police Station under relevant Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act, and an investigation was initiated.

Considering the seriousness of the incident, the AATS team of North-East District was tasked with identifying and apprehending those involved.

A dedicated team led by Inspector Deepak Pandey, In-charge of AATS/NED, analysed numerous CCTV recordings and developed clues through technical investigation and other sources. Sustained efforts and detailed examination of the available evidence helped the team identify the suspects.

On September 12, acting on a specific tip-off, the AATS team conducted a raid in the Sunder Nagri area and apprehended Azim Khan. During interrogation, his associate Imran alias Rahul was also apprehended at his instance. Both accused were subsequently handed over to the local police for further legal proceedings.

Police said Imran alias Rahul, 25, son of Ibrahim and a resident of Bhopra Chowk, Siddqi Building, Uttar Pradesh, was previously involved in two theft cases.

Azim Khan, 36, son of Illiyas and a resident of Gali No. 1, Sunder Nagri, Delhi, has nine previous cases registered against him, involving murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide, robbery, snatching, rape, kidnapping, theft and offences under the Arms Act. He is a Bad Character of Nand Nagri Police Station.

Further investigation into the case by the police is underway.

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Crime

‘Felt unsafe’: Woman biker alleges car attack after asking occupants to maintain distance in Gurugram

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Gurugram, Sep 14: A woman biker in Haryana’s Gurugram has alleged that a car repeatedly followed her before hitting her motorcycle and fleeing the spot, leaving her shaken and raising concerns over road safety in the city.

“I have nothing to say, but today I felt unsafe on Gurugram roads. People like these aren’t afraid of hitting people and running away,” the woman said after the incident.

The rider, who identifies herself as Sia and operates the Instagram page ‘rebelwheels_sia_’, uploaded footage of the incident on social media and described what she said happened before the collision.

According to Sia, the incident occurred on Sunday while she was riding her Aprilia RS 457 sports bike along Golf Course Road with members of her biking group.

In the video, she alleged that the occupants of a car had been following her from the beginning of the ride. She claimed that the people inside the vehicle behaved aggressively and attempted to get close to her motorcycle.

Sia said she asked the occupants to maintain a safe distance, but instead, they allegedly asked her to stop. She also claimed that the men appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

The rider said she continued moving ahead in an attempt to prevent the car from cutting her off. A friend riding behind her also tried to intervene by positioning his motorcycle in a way that prevented the car from repeatedly coming alongside her.

Despite this, Sia alleged, the car continued following her. She claimed that at one point, the driver attempted to cut across the path of her motorcycle, resulting in a collision.

The impact knocked Sia off her bike, while her motorcycle was dragged several metres along the road. The car then reportedly left the area.

The incident was captured on an action camera fitted to Sia’s motorcycle.

She further alleged that one of her friends pursued the car and attempted to stop the driver. The vehicle eventually halted at a traffic signal, where the friend confronted the driver and allegedly told him that he was responsible for the collision.

However, according to Sia, the driver denied causing the accident and subsequently drove away from the traffic signal.

In a social media post, Sia appealed to the Gurugram Police to take action against motorists who allegedly put other road users at risk and flee after causing accidents.

She also shared the vehicle’s registration number and identified the registered owner mentioned in the vehicle’s registration certificate.

The video subsequently gained significant attention online, with social media users expressing support for the rider and calling for action against the alleged driver. Several users tagged the Delhi Police, Gurugram Police, Gurugram Traffic Police and Haryana Police, urging authorities to investigate the incident.

Some users also called for an FIR to be registered, while others highlighted concerns over rash driving and the safety of motorists, particularly on busy roads in Gurugram.

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Crime

Hyderabad horror: Minor girl sexually assaulted by 9 people, all booked under POCSO Act

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Hyderabad, Sep 14: A minor girl was drugged, abducted and sexually assaulted by nine people over a span of three days in Medchal Malkajgiri district near Hyderabad.

All the accused were booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and arrested after the victim escaped from their clutches and lodged a complaint at Alwal Police Station under Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate.

The 16-year-old girl, a Class 11 student, was sexually assaulted on various occasions by the accused including those known to her, at different places including in a car, during a train journey and in a hotel room.

According to police, the victim came in contact with one J. Varun when she was in 10th class. A few months ago, the accused sexually assaulted her in his car after giving her a chocolate laced with sedatives. Another youth Romala Varun, who was introduced to her by J. Varun, also sexually assaulted her after making her a cigarette, liquor and Ganja addict.

Preliminary investigation by police revealed that the victim had earlier came in touch with one David Varun through Instagram. The accused had made her consume liquor and misbehaved with her.

Suspicious over her behavior, the girl’s father admonished her on September 9. Angry over this, the girl left the house and reached Bollarum Railway Station, where a person Neeraj met her. He called his friend Vicky and they sexually assaulted the victim after giving her some intoxicated substances.

Later, Vicky along with another friend Nikhil took the girl to a OYO room in Dulapally. Vicky and Nikhil along with two others sexually assaulted her. On the night of September 9, Vicky brought her his house in Bollarum and confined her here.

The next day she managed to escape and reached Bollarum Railway Station. Vicky along with his friend Ganesh reached there and forcibly drugged her. They took her to Medchal Railway Station. From there, they took her to Malkajgiri and on the way sexually assaulted her in the train. After reaching Malkajgiri, they boarded an autorickshaw. However, she managed to escape and reached her house and with the help of family members approached police.

On a complaint by the victim, police registered cases under POCSO Act and various sections of BNS against the accused.

The police have also arrested manager and owner of OYO hotel for admitting the minor and allotting a room without proper verification.

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