Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 17 (IANS): A Class 5 student was allegedly molested by the principal of her school in Shahjahanpur district, police said.

A case has been lodged against the principal, Shamim Ahmed, under relevant sections of the law for child abuse on the basis of the complaint received from the child's mother.

The incident took place on Monday but the complaint was lodged on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Bajpai said that the girl told her mother that she was playing outside her house when Shamim Ahmed took her away and allegedly molested her.

As the girl shouted for help, her family members came to the rescue and the man fled from the spot, the police said.

The principal, however, said that he was on his way to work on his motorbike when he saw some children playing. He stopped there and asked them to come to school.

The girl ran towards her house crying, he said, adding that later, some villagers went to the school to allege that she had been molested by him.