The motorbike of government middle school teacher Ashwini Kumar that was torched by the mob in Patna City on Wednesday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, May 4: A teacher of a government-run middle school in Kasba area of Patna City was thrashed by angry residents after he was accused of molesting a Class VII student of the educational institution. The mob also torched his motorbike.

Police stood by as mute spectators for sometime, before using force to disperse the mob.

Sources said Ashwini Kumar, a teacher of the school under Mahendiganj police station, harassed and groped the girl today. She left the school in the middle of her class, ran back home and informed her parents. Within minutes, a mob comprising hundreds of residents reached the school and blocked all entry and exits on the premises. They set fire to Ashwini’s motorbike first, and then thrashed him.

The police managed to rescue the teacher later. He was admitted to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital.

“The man has been harassing me for sometime. He keeps making vulgar comments during school hours. He has also tried to grab and molest me,” said the girl.

She added: “I chose to remain quiet as I wanted to continue studying in the school. This morning he groped me. I somehow freed myself and ran home to inform my parents.”

When the parents heard of their daughter’s harassment, they informed the residents of the area who decided to confront the teacher.

“At first, the motorbike of the teacher was torched by the angry mob. Then, the teacher was thrashed and locked up in one of the classrooms,” said another teacher of the school.

He added: “The other teachers were asked to leave the school premises and they obliged. Meanwhile, the police was also informed by some people.”

The police finally managed to take Ashwini out. But the mob attacked him again. They also tried to prevent the police from taking the teacher away. Thankfully, the situation did not tailspin, and the cops were able to take the injured teacher to the hospital.

“The mob was very angry and wanted to teach him a lesson. They beat him up badly,” said an officer at Mahendiganj police station.

He added: “We had asked him to wear a helmet because we were expecting it. When we took him out, the mob just pounced on him.

“We tried to stop the people but they were in huge numbers. We, somehow, shoved him into a police vehicle and drove away. The mob pelted us with stones and tried to use force. Thankfully, the situation did not get any worse,” added the officer.

The police added that investigations were being carried out in the case.

“An FIR has been lodged by the victim’s family. We are talking to the other teachers and students of the school,” said the officer.

The cops are also trying to find out if there were more such complaints against Ashwini.

The officer added: “We are running a background check on the man and trying to get more information on him. We are also trying to find out from other students if they have similar complaints.”