At least five students, some of them minor, were allegedly raped and three others molested by the director of a residential school for tribals in Maharashtra's Sangli district, police said Wednesday. The accused, who has been arrested, sexually exploited the students after promising them good marks in exams and providing free education in the school, they said.

The school is located at Kurlap in Walva tehsil of Sangli in western Maharashtra, a police official said. The director, Arvind Pawar (61), used to approach the victims through his aide Manisha Kamble (40) with the promise of free food, free education and good marks in exams, he said. "The director of the school, Arvind Pawar, and his aide Manisha Kamble have been apprehended by the police in connection with rape and molestation," Assistant Police Inspector Vivek Patil, in-charge of the Kurlap Police Station told PTI over the phone.