His dreams of making a mark as a teacher were shattered mid-way. His wedding, which was just a few days away, was called off. He lost his job which was the only means o sustenance for his elderly parents. A year after being

labelled a rapist and locked up in jail for 95 days, 27-year-old Nagaraj, a school attender, is likely to be absolved for lack o evidence. But, the damage has been done and it's unlikely that a court order will be able to repair the young man's spirit or restore his mental health On November 26, 2014 Nagaraj was accused of sexually assaulting a three-year-old pre-nursery girl at a reputed private school off Old Madras Road. The graduate, who had taken up the attender's job to fulfill his ambition of becoming a teacher, was arrested on November 29.

He was subsequently released on bail and the police are now on the verge of letting him go by due to lack of sufficient evidence to convict him. As reported by BM on December 2 ('Child rape case closed: It was urinary infection'), the police are also planning to file a 'C' report which means that due to lack of evidence against the accused, in this case Nagaraj, they declare the `real' accused as `not traceable'. However, the case can be reopened as and when the real accused is traced or even if foolproof evidence against Nagaraj is established which means investigations in the case would continue.

Following the police complaint, it emerged Nagaraj wasn't even present in school on the day of the alleged incident. He was, in fact, attending a workshop at another branch of the same institution on November 26. There were video records to show he had attended the workshop.

Though the school has backed him throughout this traumatic time, school authorities say the past year has wreaked havoc on Nagaraj.“He has lost his mental balance. After being released from jail, he wanted to commit suicide. His wedding was called off. We have taken him to counsellors, but he continues to suffer from psychological and behavioural problems,“ said L Rajashekar, HR manager of the school.

Nagaraj hails from a remote village in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and comes from a poverty-stricken family. After the incident, Nagaraj had no place to stay so the school's Assistant General Manager (AGM) G Ranga Reddy put him up in his house. “He later returned to his native and used to come only for court hearings. All the court expenses as well his travel expenses were borne by the AGM,“ said Rajashekar.

“We had immense faith in the judiciary and the truth has prevailed, but the damage caused to Nagaraj is irreparable. Though he has come out clean, he will never be the same again. Even his elderly parents are shaken,“ Rajashekar added.

“Nagaraj is a graduate and came to our school seeking a teacher's job. But, since he had poor communication skills, he was not given the post.However, since he wanted a job to look after his aged parents, he started working as an attender. It was his first job and he had come just three months prior to the incident.Except Nagaraj, all other employees are female, other than the management. After the complaint was registered by the mother, Nagaraj, who was the only male employee, was arrested. If there was any other man in his place, he would have met the same fate,“ said AGM, G Ranga Reddy.

Reddy says they are still searching for answers to why allegations were made against Nagaraj when he wasn't even present in school on that day.

