A teacher at a state-aided high school in Alipurduar district was arrested on Thursday for allegedly misbehaving with some girl students of the institution.

A court later granted bail to Bhaskar Pal, who had allegedly been touching the girls inappropriately for the past three months.

“When some of the girls protested against his behaviour, Pal reportedly threatened them that he would give them less marks in the practical exams,” said a source.

Pal teaches geography in the school.

With the teacher continuing with the “indecent behaviour”, some of the students narrated their ordeal to the parents.

The parents approached the headmaster. “The headmaster and others associated with the institution, however, did not take any step against him,” the source said.

The parents then approached the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of the district.

The CWC acted on the complaint and conducted an inquiry into the allegation. It also filed a report at the local police station under whose jurisdiction the school
is located.

“We conducted an inquiry and it was found that the charges levelled against the teacher are correct. Later, we submitted our report to the police station,” said Ashim Bose, the chairman of the CWC.

Based on the report, the police arrested Pal on Thursday morning. He was booked under the Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

“The teacher was produced in the court today. Our investigation is in progress,” said Y. Raghuvamshi, the superintendent of police of Alipurduar.