As the law of the land firmly believes that a person is innocent unless and until his or her crime is proved beyond reasonable doubt, therefore the law implementing agencies and the society should not show haste by labeling such people as guilty. However, in the cases where the crime has been proven, there should be no leniency extended towards those who committed the felony especially when the case is of rape, molestation or sexual abuse of a fair sex member of the society particularly if the victim is a minor.
It is deeply distressing that a member of a teaching fraternity has been held by the cops in Doda District over the heinous allegations of molestation and sexual abuse of a minor girl, who happens to be her student. Reportedly, the Police have arrested a Lecturer of Government Girls Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Bhaderwah for sexually molesting a minor girl student by threatening to fail her in internal examinations of the school.
It is quite shocking that teachers who have been considered as the mentors of the students are indulging in such disgraceful acts. This surely depicts how badly the society has witnessed alarming moral decline in recent times as parents send their children to schools and other institutions by showing undaunted faith in the teaching fraternity. The cases like these are forcing them all to think hundred times before handing over their offspring to such entities, who have become morally wrong and are even worse than habitual criminals.
All said and done, such reprehensible acts not only affect the mental state of innocent victims but also erode the goodwill which people have in their minds for the teachers. In such cases, the judiciary has a greater role to play as strict and swift punishment is the need of the hour if the alleged wrong committed by the aforesaid teacher is proven beyond any doubt. The authorities should work on creating an environment to deter such incidents in the future by spreading awareness among the stakeholders, strict monitoring at the school level and not allowing a single entity to decide whether a student has to be passed or failed in any of the exams. Giving exemplary punishment in such cases can kindle hope, deter others from indulging in such shameful acts and restore faith in the systems meant to protect and nurture children.
