Thiruvananthapuram: The management of the Fort High School on Tuesday suspended the headmaster for inviting Mukesh M Nair, an accused in a POCSO case, as the chief guest for the school reopening event.

An order from the management cited a report submitted by the Deputy Director of Education (DDE), Thiruvananthapuram, holding the headmaster, T S Pradeep, responsible for the incident. The department's primary inquiry found that the incident was caused by a serious lapse in judgment by the school authorities.

Mukesh, a vlogger, participated in the school reopening event (Praveshanolsavam) on Monday. He was seen presenting prizes to students and participating in the entire programme. Visuals of the event triggered widespread criticism, prompting Education minister V Sivankutty to order an urgent inquiry.

The POCSO case against Mukesh stems from an incident in April, when the Kovalam Police booked him for allegedly coercing a 16-year-old girl to take part in a social media reel shoot. The girl accused Mukesh of touching her inappropriately and forcing her to act for the video.