Police in Cooch Behar on Thursday arrested the managing committee’s president of a state-aided co-educational higher secondary school for allegedly sending lewd messages to girl students of higher classes and making indecent proposals to female teachers.

On Thursday, students of the school had planned a protest against the brutal rape and killing of the doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta. Ahead of the protests, some girls studying in Classes XI and XII approached the headmaster and said they were also “victims”.

“The president of the managing committee regularly sends us lewd messages. We have borne this mental torture for months. After the RG Kar incident, we couldn’t stay calm anymore and informed the headmaster about it. This has to stop. We want relief,” said a Class XII girl student of the school.

The girls also submitted a complaint in writing to the headmaster. Soon, some female teachers of the institution verbally informed the headmaster that the managing committee president had made indecent proposals to some of them.

“Our students gave us the courage to flag the issue. The situation has become unbearable,” said a teacher.

As the news spread, some former students and guardians assembled on the school premises and resorted to demonstrations on Thursday afternoon, demanding exemplary steps against the accused managing committee president.

“He has held the post for around 10 years now. He should be removed from the post immediately and punished for his actions,” said a guardian.

The protests prompted the headmaster to contact the district inspector of schools and the police.

Soon, a team from the local police station reached the spot.

The headmaster apprised the police officials about the issue. Later, a complaint was filed with the police.

Police acted and arrested Anutosh Roy, the 58-year-old accused. Locals claimed that he was a Trinamool leader and was seen attending different events of the party.

“A case has been registered. We are probing the case,” said a police officer.

District TMC leaders, when contacted, tried to distance themselves from the incident.

“If anyone is found guilty, the law will take its course. Our party doesn’t support such acts and we hope the police will take appropriate steps,” said Rabindranath Ghosh, a state TMC vice-president based in Cooch Behar.