Patna: A local court Friday stayed the arrest of a former school principal in connection with a case charging him and three teachers of extorting money from some students, including a class XI student who had mysteriously disappeared from the school premises on February 28 and was found three weeks later.
District Judge Birendra Kumar stayed the arrest of Ramanuj Prasad, former principal of BSEB branch of DAV School here, till April 7 and transferred the case to the court of additional district and sessions judge Satya Prakash for hearing on the next date.
Prasad went into hiding since last week as his arrest became imminent after he was named in the FIR lodged with the police. In the same case three teachers of the school - Gaurang De, Pradeep Bharti and Sanatan Maharana have been arrested and sent to jail on the charge of extorting money from some students by deliberately failing them in class XI examination.
The accused teachers had named the principal as the kingpin of the racket in which the failed Class XI students were made to pay Rs 60,000 or more to allow them to appear for the Class XII board examination.
The racket had come to light when a Class XI student had mysteriously disappeared from the school premises on February 28 when she went with her father to deposit Rs 60,000 to get her admit card for appearing in Class XII examination.
Facing mounting pressure from her parents and civil society, the Patna police had found the 17 year-old girl from the railway station last week.
She had subsequently narrated the events of her disappearance, including being raped by two unknown men and of the alleged racket being run by the school.
The police had subsequently arrested three teachers and sent them to jail, but the ex-principal was let off after interrogation. Since then he has gone into hiding and has moved an application in the local court for anticipatory bail.
