Mumbai school horror: English teacher 'got student drunk', molested him multiple times

A 40-year-old teacher from a prominent Mumbai school has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student over the course of a year, police said.

The accused, a married woman with children of her own, taught English to the Class 11 student. According to a HT report, the alleged abuse began after the two interacted frequently while organising dance groups for the school’s annual function in December 2023. Police claim the teacher made her first sexual advances in January 2024.

When the boy initially resisted and avoided her, the teacher reportedly enlisted a female friend, not affiliated with the school, to persuade him. The friend, who has also been charged, allegedly told the minor that relationships between older women and teenage boys were "quite common" and that he and the teacher were "made for each other," HT cited an investigating officer.

After this intervention, the student agreed to meet the teacher. Police claim she drove him to an isolated location in her sedan, since seized by authorities, where she "forcefully undressed and assaulted him." The boy later developed severe anxiety and the teacher allegedly gave him anti-anxiety pills, officers said.

The assaults reportedly escalated, with the teacher taking the student to five-star hotels in south Mumbai and near the airport, where they engaged in further sexual encounters. Police added that she would often get him drunk beforehand.

As per HT, the family noticed behavioural changes in the boy but initially chose not to report the incidents, hoping the matter would resolve itself once he left school. However, after he passed his board exams earlier this year, he allegedly fell into depression. The case was filed when the teacher allegedly tried to contact him again through a domestic staff member.

The accused has been remanded in police custody until Wednesday. A case has been registered under POCSO sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault), 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 17 (abetment), along with relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Juvenile Justice Act.

The arrest has sent shockwaves through the elite school, which counts several high-profile figures among its alumni. Authorities have not disclosed the institution’s name to protect the victim’s identity.