Faafu Atoll School Indian teacher permanently deported

English language teacher at Faafu Atoll School, Jayachandran Kurunthokandiyil, has been permanently deported from the Maldives, the Prosecutor General’s Office has said today.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement that Kurunthokandiyil was deported on 25 December 2014 as per the formal procedures of deportation of the Department of Immigration and Emigration, following charges of sexual assault on a student of Faafu Atoll School.

The office said that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused, and the main ground for deportation was delays in different stages of prosecution due to procedural issues.

“The accused was deported, as per the rights and powers vested in the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and under the Prosecutor General’s Act (Act No. 9/2008), as it is in the best interests of the State and the accused to do so,” reads the statement.

The office stressed that the decision was free from any sort of external pressure, and said that any allegation that Kurunthokandiyil was deported following external pressure, is false.

Kurunthokandiyil was arrested in April 2014 after a case was filed to the Faafu Atoll Family and Children’s Unit, accusing him of sexual assault on an 11-year-old boy.