Mumbai: Navi Mumbai police teams on Wednesday interrogated New Delhi- and Uttar Pradesh-based relatives of the teacher of a Nerul school who is wanted in a case involving the rape of a 13-year-old female student. The police found a handwritten note claiming innocence, purportedly written by him, during a search carried out at his Nerul residence.
In his note, the teacher wrote that he was ready for a DNA test and was innocent of the crime of which he has been accused. He has been absconding for over a month now.
Raj Shukla, the accused school teacher, had allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl in Nerul in April this year, following which her parents approached the police, who dissuaded them twice from registering a complaint. The Navi Mumbai crime branch has sent teams to New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to nab the teacher, who has been absconding for over a month.
Meanwhile, sources said, “The police has conducted a search in Shukla’s house located in Nerul, where cops have found some of his personal documents, files and a note where he has written that he is innocent and not involved in any molestation or rape case.”
The sources revealed that the accused’s note read, “I have been teaching so many students. If I wanted to behave like this, why would I harass such a small girl. I am innocent and ready to undergo a DNA test. I didn’t rape her and never molested her. I know the girl very well and I have spoken to her several times about study-related matters, but never done any abnormal act with her.”
However, according to the victim’s father, the teacher allegedly raped her a second time in August this year, but the police did not file a FIR against him and, instead, questioned the victim’s version. Navi Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale on Tuesday suspended an assistant police inspector of Nerul police station, H.D. More, for alleged lapses in dealing with the victim’s father’s complaints.
A rape case was registered against the teacher at Nerul police station under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
