Police are looking out for the friend of the accused who also raped the 16-year-old (Representational)
A government school teacher who has been accused of raping a 16-year-old student was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said on Thursday. The police are on the lookout for a second accused in the case.
A teacher in the Government Primary School in Leondi village, Srinder Kumar Sharma, was arrested last evening for allegedly gang-raping the minor student along with his friend.
According to senior police officer Abrar Chowdhary, the girl in her statement said Srinder Sharma lured her with the promise of taking her to Gulabgarh and Kishtwar for advanced tuitions on December 4.
Sharma and his friend Raj Dev Thakur took the minor girl to a hotel and a guest house in Kishtwar, among other places, where they allegedly raped her several times. They then allegedly abandoned the girl on December 6.
Some influential members of a local panchayat and an ex-sarpanch are being investigated as well for their alleged attempt at hushing up the matter by getting the victim to marry the minor, Mr Chowdhary added.
The management and staff of the hotel and the guest house where the accused allegedly took the 16-year-old girl and raped her are also being looked into, according to Mr Chowdhary.
The police are on the hunt for Srinder Sharma's friend Raj Dev Thakur and are hopeful of arresting him soon.
With inputs from PTI