Tuition centre sex scandal: 2 more held

The duo was identified as Eswaran (26) and another youth by name Sivakumar (27). While Eswaran was lodged in jail under judicial custody, the other youth was being quizzed. The first accused S Sivakumar from Ganapathi Kotai near Palacode in Dharmapuri district was a diploma holder in computer science. “Three years ago he ran Dhanalakshmi Tuition Centre at Palacode where many Class 10 and Class 12 students studied. He had sexually abused a few minor girls there with the promise of marrying them,” a police officer said.

He also recorded intimate videos with a few of them. “We have retrieved videos involving two such girls and are probing to find if more girls were videographed by him,” an officer told DTNext. S Sivakumar is now running a tuition centre near Avvaiyar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Dharmapuri, police said. 

The incidents of sexual abuse were not known till a couple of weeks ago, when Sivakumar’s friend Eswaran (who was arrested on Thursday) was showing a sleaze video of Sivakumar with one of the girls to another friend on his mobile phone. The victim in the video who was 14 years old when it was recorded by the accused in 2014 is studying in a college in Dharmapuri now. 

One of her relatives was shocked to see the video and informed her parents. With the support of her parents the girl lodged a complaint against Sivakumar with the Palacode police on December 4, after which he was lodged in prison under judicial custody. 

He was booked under sections 5(f) (person in the management or staff of an educational or religious institution committing penetrative sexual assault on a child in that institution) read with 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 13 (misusing a child for pornographic purposes on the internet or electronic form), 14 (punishment for using child for pornographic purpose) and 15 (punishment for storing pornographic material involving a child) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code. 

“Inquiries have led to suspicion that more than 20 girls were sexually abused by Sivakumar but he managed to escape uncaught as the victims did not lodge a police complaint. On Thursday Sivakumar was taken under police custody,” a police officer added.