The Vimantal police arrested a 43-year-old school teacher on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing students under the pretext of giving them punishment. He has been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The teacher used to call the female students one by one during lunch under the pretext of punishing them and then proceeded to sexually abuse them. The incident was reported to the police by education officer Neelima Madhukar Mhetre on Thursday.

The alleged mistreatment had been going on for the last six months at a school being run by the Pune Zilla Parishad. Speaking to mid-day, Mhetre who works as an education officer in the Haveli area, said, "On March 30, after getting their exam results, a few girls from the sixth grade complained about punishment being given by the teacher and said they don't want to return to school.