The hostel warden of a renowned residential school in Udhagamandalam was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday, February 7, 2024, for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old male child over a six-month period.
The accused person was identified as Halan Maxwell Sikkyura, 59, a resident of Grace Hill in Coonoor. According to the police, Sikkyura was working as a hostel warden at the residential school for the past 18 months. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted the victim, a class 5 student, over several months in 2023 and 2024.
The police said the victim had refused to return to the hostel and had fallen ill, prompting his parents to ask him what had happened, after which he told his parents about the abuse he was suffering at the school.
Based on a complaint from the father of the child, the police registered a case under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, including charges for aggravated sexual assault, as well as for criminal intimidation against Sikkyura, and arrested him on Tuesday.
The police said that over 250 students study at the private school in Udhagamandalam. The police also said they will continue their investigations to ascertain if there are other victims who were targeted by Sikkyura.
