Tainted principal molested girls in Mumbai too: cops

The Yerawada police on Thursday filed the chargesheet against Father Issu Francis Falcao (61), vice principal of a school, for alleged involvement in molesting and attempting to rape a Std X girl student in January.

Police sub inspector Reshma Mulani, who is investigating the case, submitted the chargesheet in the court of special judge Vinay Joshi. Falcao has been slapped with Indian Penal Code, 1860 section 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (outraging modesty of woman), 376 (rape) and 511 (attempt to commit certain offences) and section 7 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The chargesheet includes statements of 11 witnesses including three classmates of the 14-year-old victim and three journalists whom the mother had first approached and who helped her lodge the complaint. The chargesheet also named 10 schools where Falcao worked as vice principal or principal in Mumbai, Thane and Pune since 1986.

According to the chargesheet, Falcao was angry with the victim as her mother had refused to allow her to go with him to Mumbai to secure admission to a dance class. The complainant, a Std X student of the National Institute of Open School on the campus in Yerawada, met him after prayers on January 1, when he asked her to meet him the next day. She did not attend school and at about 1 pm on January 2, after school hours, she met Falcao who asked her to come to his cabin as he wanted to show her some files.

Once she was inside the cabin, he allegedly locked the door, molested her and tried to rape her when she somehow managed to escape. While going out of the vice-principal’s cabin, her three friends saw her crying. When they asked her, she told them about the incident and went home.

These three girls in their police statements have said that Falcao used to insult her in the class without any reason and allegedly used to use obscene words.

A police team went to the schools in Mumbai and Thane where Falcao had worked and found that in 1996, parents of some students had complained to the school trustee against his indecent behaviour and daily abuse of children.

He resigned from the school in 1999, without stating any reason. The police in their report stated that discreet inquiry revealed that Fr Falcao was allegedly involved in molesting the girl students at the school.

The police have attached copies of attendance sheets of the students and Fr Falcao in the chargesheet. The complaint was registered on January 21 and he was arrested the same day. He is out on bail since February 7.

Earlier, the school authorities had said that the girl was absent on the day of incident. However, the police, citing cell phone tower locations, said that the victim and Falcao were present at the school campus on January 2 afternoon, when the alleged incident took place.