CHENNAI: When the correspondent of a school at Tiruvottriyur  gave a Class XI boy money to buy a new uniform and offered to buy him a mobile phone, the student thought he was kind-hearted. But in a few weeks, the correspondent allegedly started making late night phone calls to the boy, compelling him to perform sexual acts with him.

Exasperated, the boy circulated the recordings of the calls among his schoolmates, which prompted over 100 students of the school to stage a protest by blocking a road on Tuesday.

The Tiruvottriyur police registered a case based on the complaint of the boy’s mother. Accused Arokiya Raj (40) is absconding.

“The first time he spotted me wearing the uniform meant for Class X students, he questioned me. Learning that my family could not afford to buy me school uniform, he gave me `1,000, which I accepted and wore the new uniform to school. After that he would call me alone to talk even on the school premises. I didn’t expect him to misbehave,” the victim told Express.

Arokiya Raj, who is said to have joined the school only two months ago, was otherwise known to be a  disciplinarian. But the explicit content in his recorded calls angered the school students.
The victim hailed from a poor family, which the accused had allegedly exploited.

“It started about a month ago when he called in the night and asked where I was. Then his messages were sexually explicit. He said he loved me. He also tried to convince me that homosexuality was legal in foreign countries where he would take me to settle down,” the boy said.

To avoid him, the student switched off the phone and did not go to school for a few days. “When I returned, he buttonholed me and asked why my phone was not reachable. When I said it was under repair, he offered to buy me a new phone but I refused it,” the boy said.  The irritated victim then shared the trauma with his friends, including the call recordings, which led to a protest by students after school hours on Tuesday.

After the police managed to restore traffic, the Ponneri District Educational Officer visited the spot, conducted inquiries with the victim and submitted a detailed report to the Chief Educational Officer, Tiruvallur.

In the evening, as students refused to disperse, police officers rushed to the school and held talks with them and showed them the FIR copy. Later, more than 200 students blocked the Sathangadu Road and walked all the way to Tiruvottiyur High Road where the assistant commissioner of police’s office is located and protested again. A few of them pelted stones at an MTC bus smashing its windshield and created traffic jam for more than an hour. The crowd dispersed only after a few senior police officers assured them of proper legal action.

The principal, Martin, said the correspondent joined the school only two months ago.

Both the CEO and District Educational Officer concerned were not available for comment.