May 4, 2012: Howrah teacher held for showing porn to school students

TNN | May 4, 2012, 04.41AM IST

HOWRAH: A 47-year-old school teacher from Howrah was hauled up for showing pornographic material on his mobile phone to students. Bally resident Debasis Das, who taught English at Belur High School, was arrested on Thursday after parents lodged a complaint against him. Das was also suspended from the school immediately.

A couple of months ago, MLAs of Karnataka and Gujarat were accused of watching it in their respective Assemblies. And now, a 47-year-old schoolteacher from Howrah has been hauled up for showing pornographic material in his mobile phone to students. Bally resident Debasis Das, who taught English in the Belur High School, was arrested on Thursday after parents lodged a complaint against him. He was also suspended from the school immediately.

Das taught English to students of Classes V to VIII in the all boys' school. On Thursday morning, hundreds of parents turned up at the school and demanded a meeting with headmaster Tapas Chattopadhyay. The headmaster was shocked when the parents accused Das of showing obscene photographs and film clips on his mobile phone to their sons. The parents also staged a demonstration outside the school premises demanding the teacher's suspension.

The parents then lodged a complaint with the police, accusing Das of sexually harassing their children. Das was arrested and taken to the police station.

"The governing body of the school is taking this charge very seriously and we have suspended him. I will also take up the matter with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. In December, 2011, this teacher was suspended for academic reasons. The suspension was revoked in the end of March and he started taking classes again. We are treating this complaint very seriously though," Chattopadhyay said.

Nishat Pervez, DC(HQ), Howrah City Police, confirmed that the teacher was arrested and investigations were on. Display of pornographic material to minors is a punishable offence in India and Das is liable to be sentenced if the charges against him are proved.
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