'Obscene' pictures of HMs spark stir

A large number of students of the Government Middle School at Sholayar Dam, accompanied by their parents, staged a road roko at Valparai demanding disciplinary action against  the school headmaster, whose pictures, allegedly showing him in a compromising position with the headmistress of the Panchayat Union Primary School at ETR, were found on the Internet.        

The news spread like wildfire in the town, following which a large number of parents, and students who stayed away from classes, blocked the road on Monday morning around 9 am, raising slogans against the headmaster.  

According to the protestors, some of the photos were found in the classrooms of the middle school as well.       

The protestors dispersed an hour later after police officials assured them of action against the headmaster.   

They reportedly presented a petition and the CDs which contained the alleged obscene pictures on the web, to the Valparai Police and sought stringent action. 

However, Valparai Inspector C Subramaniyan told Express that they had not yet received any complaint from the parents’ association on the issue. He added that necessary action would be taken against both the school heads once the parents lodged a formal complaint.  

When contacted, Chief Educational Officer A Gnana Gowri said, “We are not planning to initiate departmental action against the two as there is no credible evidence. The photos can very easily be morphed. So, we can’t assume it as an authentic evidence.” 

She added that departmental action would be considered against the two if the police initiated legal action on them.

Police suspect that the pictures could have been morphed and posted on websites by a teacher who was earlier suspended for misbehaving with his colleagues when he was working at the Panchayat Union Primary School at ETR. It may be noted that a week ago, the government took the Sholayar Dam Middle School, an aided school, under its control on a request from its school secretary in 2010.