CHENNAI: The Chennai city police arrested a school teacher on Monday night after students and alumni accused him of sexual harassment.

G Rajagopalan, a teacher suspected of sexual harassment, was arrested by the Ashok Nagar All Women Police in the early hours of Tuesday. He was taken to a magistrate, who ordered him to be held in judicial custody.

The incident was brought to light after Kripali, a former student at the institution, compiled and posted images of several pupils discussing their experiences with the teacher. One of the screenshots shows him wearing nothing but a cloth around his neck.

PSBB School's KK Nagar Branch management suspended G Rajagopalan, a class 12 Commerce and Accountancy teacher, on Monday at noon. This happened after a number of students and alumni claimed he had sexually harassed them. The allegations included showing up to online classes wearing only a towel, touching students inappropriately, asking them out for movies at odd hours, distributing pornographic links to groups, and making sexual comments on female students.

The PSBB management stated in the suspension memo, "Some very serious allegations of misconduct have been alleged against you and the same has come to the knowledge of the management from and through social media (sic)." The teacher will be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the school.

POCSO Act Sections 11 (When a person conducts sexual harassment on a child by saying words, exhibiting his body, etc.) and 12 (When a person commits sexual harassment on a kid by speaking words, displaying his body, etc.) led to Rajagopalan's detention (Whoever, commits sexual harassment upon a child shall be punished with imprisonment), under IPC sections 354(a) (Sexual Harassment and Punishment for Sexual Harassment) and 509 (uttering any words, making any sound or gesture, or exhibiting any object with the intent to insult the modesty of any lady); under IT Act sections 67 and 67(a) (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).

According to police sources, a plea to detain the accused has been filed.

The administration did not cooperate effectively with the police, according to the police, who received a complaint on Monday night. Rajagopalan was detained in the early hours of Tuesday by the police after an investigation.