Shahjahanpur, May 15 (IANS): A school principal and an assistant teacher have been booked while a computer teacher of a government school in a village in Tilhar in Shahjahanpur district has been arrested for allegedly attempting to sexually assault 15 girl students, mostly Dalits, police said.

All these minor students study in class 7 and 8.

The principal and an assistant teacher have been booked for allegedly supporting the accused computer teacher.

All the three have been booked under sections 354 (attempt to outrage the modesty of a woman), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act and the SC/ST Act.

Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Kumar Gaurav, said, "The head teacher and the assistant teacher have been suspended with immediate effect, and a departmental enquiry has also been ordered against them."

The computer teacher was sent to jail on Sunday after the statements of all the girls were recorded by police in the presence of their parents.

The students told police that their teacher used to touch them inappropriately. The girls were later taken to district hospital for medico-legal examination.

This issue came into light when one of the girls told her father that her 30-year-old computer teacher used to inappropriately touch her and other girl students after school hours.

The parents of these girls then raided the school and also recovered used condoms from the school's toilet.

The police were informed and a complaint was lodged against the school's head teacher, the computer teacher and an assistant teacher at the Tilhar police station.

Shahjahanpur Senior Superintendent of Police said, "The allegations are grave as all the girls are aged between 12 to 15 years and they had given their statements against the accused teacher. Circle officer of Tilhar, Priyank Jain, is carrying out the investigation. The accused has been sent to jail. We are also investigating the role of two other teachers."