Guru asked me to take off my clothes, claims ex-student of Kelambakkam school

Following a sexual harassment complaint filed by a former student, the Tamil Nadu Child Welfare Committee conducted an inquiry at a private residential school run by a self-styled spiritual guru in Puthupakkam near Kelambakkam, on Tuesday.

In her complaint, the alumnus had mentioned that when she was in Class 9, she had seen a few of her friends and other students going to other rooms at night. "Later, one of my friends had informed me that she was sexually harassed and I couldn't believe it at that time. A few months later, I was called to a room where the guru, Shiva Shankar Baba, asked me to strip off my clothes. When I refused, he got angry and asked me to go out of the room. This continued even when I was doing my higher studies," the girl said in the complaint. She also claimed that many parents knew about this.

Following her complaint, the Tamil Nadu Child Welfare Committee official Saraswathi Rangasammy and four other officials visited the residential school in Puthupakkam and and questioned authorities for about an hour. 

The Chengalpattu superintendent of police E Sundaravathanam said that as the welfare committee asked for police protection, a team from Tiruporur station was sent. "The inquiry is in its initial stage. If found guilty, action will be taken against those who are involved in this," he said.