Akola (Maharashtra), April 4 (IANS): The Akola Police nabbed three absconding teachers in connection with the molestation of 55 teenaged schoolgirls of the centrally-managed Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Akola, an official said here on Saturday.

Two of the accused are Rajan Gajbhiye, 42 and Shailesh Ramteke, 49, arrested from Nagpur while the third accused is Sandeep who lives in Akola, Civil Lines police station in-charge D.D. Dhakane told IANS.

"Based on mobile telephone tracking, we first detected the duo (Gajbhiye and Ramteke) somewhere in Amravati and later they moved to Nagpur from where our team nabbed them shortly after midnight Saturday," Dhakane said.

They have been brought to Akola and will be produced before a magistrate later in the day, he added.

Earlier, Sandeep had apologised to the parents of the victims, hoping to be exonerated, but police and Maharashtra Women Commission Member Asha Mirge insisted that he should be booked and charged.

The matter came to light after Mirge, a gynaecologist, secured a written and signed complaint by 55 victims, aged between 13-16.

She brought it to the notice of Collector Arun Shinde, district Superintendent of Police Chandrakishore Mina, school principal R. Singh and even Dhakane.

"These 55 girls, aged between 13-17, have given me a written, signed statement about the incident involving the two teachers, who indulged in pervert talks, molested them and made sexual advances," Mirge told IANS.

"I plan to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and write to Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani demanding safety and security for all the girls in such 600 residential JNVs around India," she added.