Mid-Day

A school superintendent has been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a teenaged girl, police said today.

The accused, Vijay Patil (24), Superintendent of Rajashri Sahu Maharaj Ashram school in Ulhasnagar township of Thane district, was arrested Wednesday for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl on the pretext of marrying her, Assistant Police Inspector H Dagade said.

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Later, he allegedly backed out following which the girl, a class 5 student, informed her mother. The victim's mother also said that the marriage could happen only after she turned 18.

The frustrated girl committed suicide by hanging herself at her home on Monday. A police complaint was registered by the victim's family against the accused for making false promises to the girl because of which she was depressed and took the extreme step.

The accused has been charged under section 306 (for abatement to commit suicide) of the IPC, police said. Further probe in the case was on, they added.