Chennai police have arrested G Jayapaul, the principal of Montfort School in Perugudi, for sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. The issue came to light after the girl refused to go to school for nearly two months. The girl revealed what had happened after her parents questioned her for the long absence from the school.

The parents then approached the local police station at Thoraipakkam with a complaint against Jayapaul, but the Inspector refused to register it. They then went to the all-women police station at Guindy, 10 km away from Perugudi, where too the officials refused to accept the complaint.

Enraged over the police attitude, the parents then gathered in front of the school with their relatives and staged a blockade. Following this, police accepted their complaint and took the principal to the police station for inquiry. After completion of the inquiry during which he confessed to committing the abuse, Jayapaul was arrested on Friday (2 March).

The Hindu, quoting the local police, reported that 44-year-old Jayapaul had faced similar charges earlier while working in a private school. The principal reportedly regretted the incident and sought apology, reported Tamil media. However, parents of the victims were unwilling to forgive him. Videos on the social media showed a woman touching a police officer’s feet, asking him to bring the principal to them so that they could beat him up. Police, however, refused to accede to the request.

The protest also led to the parents of another girl alleging that Jayapaul’s sexual harassment led to their daughter committing suicide six months ago. The girl, who had scored over 97 per cent in her high school exams, was touched inappropriately by the principal when she went to get his blessing after scoring high marks.

A few months later, the girl was not her usual self and suddenly committed suicide, alleged the grandmother of the girl.

The Montford School is administered by the Society of Brothers of St Gabriel.