A Fast Track Special Court in Panaji has sentenced 54-year-old former Science teacher, to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment for alleged repeated sexual assault of his student over a period of four years. The prosecution established that between 2015 and 2019, Chanekar used his position of authority to exploit the victim at his residence in Pernem. The abuse began when the victim was a 16-year-old student in Class X. The court heard that the accused coerced the victim into attending “extra classes” by threatening that she would fail her Science examinations. Once isolated, the teacher sexually assaulted the victim and used recorded photographs and videos to blackmail her into silence and continued compliance until September 2019. During the trial, the defense argued that the case was a fabrication and highlighted a five-year delay in filing the formal complaint. However, the court accepted the victim’s explanation that she remained silent out of extreme fear, trauma, and the threat of social stigma. The court further dismissed the accused’s claim that police had framed him after he refused to pay a bribe, labeling the defense “vague” and lacking any supporting evidence.
