A residential educational institution in Devanahalli, Karnataka, is at the center of a disturbing case where the school’s owner and his wife face charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accusations involve the alleged repeated sexual harassment of minor students and an ensuing cover-up that included illegal confinement. Dhananjay, the primary accused and school owner, is accused of entering girls’ dormitory rooms late at night in an intoxicated state to harass them.
The complaint alleges that when traumatized girls sought help from the owner’s wife, Shailaja, she did not protect them. Instead, she reportedly supported her husband’s actions and warned the children not to disclose the incidents. The victims claimed that the couple exerted extreme pressure on them for eight days to prevent the news from spreading. The abuse came to light when the girls managed to contact their parents and reveal the ordeal they had endured.
Following the distressing incident, parents rushed to the school, lodged a formal complaint with the Devanahalli Police Station, and a case was registered under the POCSO Act. Legal proceedings are now underway against both Dhananjay and Shailaja for their alleged roles in the abuse and cover-up. In a separate incident, Mallikarjun Mutya, a self-proclaimed ‘godman’ from Yadgir, has been accused of misconduct with a minor girl, prompting the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to take action.
