Thane: Ashram school cook arrested for allegedly molesting 22 minor students

Ashram school cook arrested for alleged molestation of 22 minor students (Representational image)

A cook at a government ashram school in the Thane district was arrested earlier this week for allegedly molesting 22 minor female students. As per the officials, the accused was a habitual offender who had previously been jailed under the POCSO Act and reinstated, an official said on Friday.

The project officer (PO) of the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) while briefing about the accused, said that the accused, Ganpat Gavli, who worked at the ashram school in Temba in Shahpur, was a habitual offender and had been accused of a similar crime at an ashram school in Aghai, as per PTI. She also added that Gavli has been suspended following his arrest earlier this week.

Accused arrested under POCSO Act

She added, "Gavli, who had just 10 months left until retirement, was a habitual offender. He was booked earlier under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at another ashram school in Aghai and was even suspended back then. It is currently not known how and by whom he was reinstated," as cited by PTI.

The victims at the school in Temba first approached the authorities with a complaint on August 24, following which the superintendent referred the matter to the headmaster, who immediately wrote to the Tribal Development Department.

A complaint was filed with the Shahapur police station, and the accused was arrested, she said.

Galande said, "The fact that he is involved in such acts is clear, as it is not expected that 17 to 18 girls would narrate the same story independently."

According to officials, Gavli was previously arrested for molestation at the Aghai ashram school. After being released from jail, he was posted in the Moroshi Ashram school in Murbad before his recent transfer to Temba.

Three held for stealing gold jewelry from women on Thane buses

In a separate incident on Friday, Thane police have arrested three repeat offenders for allegedly stealing gold jewelry from women commuters on buses and recovered stolen valuables worth Rs 20.53 lakh.

With these arrests, the police have cracked six theft cases reported over the last couple of months, the official said.

The police were probing a 61-year-old woman's complaint that a gold bangle was stolen from her wrist on July 20 while boarding a bus at the Louiswadi bus stop, he said.

After examining the CCTV footage from the area, the police zeroed in on the suspects, Kapil Suresh Tidange (38) and Pornima Suresh Tidange alias Kallu Kalpana (32), on August 3, while their accomplice, Deepak Watan Abhang (48), was apprehended on August 21, the official said.

Following sustained interrogation, it was found that the trio were involved in six theft cases registered across the Naupada, Thanenagar, and Rabodi police stations.

(With inputs from PTI)