The police on Thursday arrested the principal of a school in Bhopal’s Shahpura area on charges of raping a 16-year-old student.

The girl told the police that the principal sexually assaulted her in March. The principal – Shashikant Vishwakarma – asked the complainant to help him buy food for a programme that the school had organised, Hindi daily Nai Duniya reported. But instead of going to the market, he reportedly took her to his house and allegedly assaulted her. He raped her four-five more times after that, the report said.

The girl’s parents got worried when she stopped going to school two weeks ago. When she finally confided in them, her family members lodged a complaint with the police, following which Vishwakarma was arrested.