Ex-Principal Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail for Assaulting Student in Kushaiguda
A special POCSO court at Neredmet in Hyderabad has sentenced Kedarnath Mahapatra, a 64-year-old former principal of a Union government-operated school, to five years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Class 9 student inside his office.
The incident took place in October 2017 at the school premises located under the Kushaiguda police station limits. Mahapatra, who was 54 years old at the time of the offence, called the minor student into his ground-floor office under the pretext of discussing her co-curricular activity practice sessions while she was on her way to collect her bag from her first-floor classroom.
According to the victim's testimony before the court, Mahapatra offered her a samosa and lassi inside his office. As she prepared to leave, the principal told her that she was beautiful, that he loved her, and that she was different from others. He then asked her to bolt the office door, and when she was unable to do so, he bolted the door himself.
The victim stated that she grew frightened and began to weep. Mahapatra then approached her, placed his hands around her waist, and kissed her cheeks while holding her in an embrace. The student pushed him away and attempted to open the door. Before unlocking the door to let her go, the principal forced her to promise that she would not disclose the incident to anyone.
Following the incident, the student ran upstairs to retrieve her school bag and returned home. She disclosed the assault to her parents the following day, after which her mother lodged a formal complaint with the Kushaiguda police. Investigators subsequently completed the probe and submitted a chargesheet against Mahapatra in court.
During the trial, the defence counsel contended that no teachers, school staff members, or management representatives had been named in the chargesheet or examined as witnesses in the case. Mahapatra denied the charges and sought leniency from the court, citing his advanced age, poor health, a brain stroke suffered in 2024, his wife's medical conditions, and the fact that both of his children reside outside India.
After concluding the trial and examining the evidence on record, the POCSO court rejected the defence claims, found Mahapatra guilty of the offence, and awarded him five years of rigorous imprisonment.
