Teacher plies student with anxiety pills, alcohol, sexually assaults him in 5-star Mumbai hotels for over a year

A female teacher of a prominent school in Mumbai has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old male student on multiple occasions in the past year and plying him with anti-anxiety pills and alcohol, police said. The woman, 40, who is married and has children, has been charged under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The accused woman taught the student when he was in Class XI. She told police that she got attracted to the teenager during meetings to select a dance group for the annual school function in December 2023, and made first sexual advances in January 2024.

Accused roped in female friend to convince teen

As the survivor was initially reluctant and started avoiding her, the teacher approached one of her female friends for help. The accused’s friend, who has also been charged, reached out to the minor and reportedly told him that relationships between older women and teenage boys have “become quite common” and that he and the teacher were “made for each other” after which the student decided to meet the accused, said a police officer seeking anonymity.

Subsequently, the teacher picked up the boy in a car and took him to a secluded place. “She undressed him forcefully and sexually assaulted him. When the student developed anxiety in the next few days, she gave him some anti-anxiety tablets,” the officer said.

The teacher then started getting the student drunk before taking him to five-star hotels in South Mumbai and near the airport, where she coerced him into having sexual relations, another officer said.

Family noticed changes in teen’s behaviour

Police said the incident came to light when the teen’s family noticed a change in his behaviour and confronted him. The student narrated his plight, but the family decided to keep it under wraps as he would soon pass out from the school and hoped that the teacher would ultimately stop bothering him.

However, when the student left school after clearing his Class 12 board examinations this year, he was again contacted by the teacher.

“The teacher contacted the student through one of her domestic staff and asked him to meet her. The teen’s family then decided to approach us and register a case,” the officer said.

Police said a case has been registered under sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault), 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), and 17 of the POCSO Act, besides provisions of the IPC and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.