Visakhapatnam, Aug 21 (PTI) A six-year-old boy died at a private school here after being allegedly slapped by a teacher inside the classroom, police said.
According to a video which went viral on Thursday, the kindergarten student was seen standing in a queue near the teacher’s desk with a slate while his homework was being checked. The boy appeared distressed and was seen crying before the teacher, waving his hands as the teacher handled his uniform.
The teacher then pulled the child closer and allegedly slapped him while the boy stood still for a brief moment before collapsing onto the teacher’s lap.
Later, the teacher is seen trying to revive the student.
Following the incident, the school staff and others rushed to the classroom and took the child to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
“The boy collapsed in the classroom following an alleged assault by a teacher and later died,” a police official told PTI.
According to police, the incident occurred around 12 noon on August 20 at the private school on Town Kotha Road in Visakhapatnam.
The boy’s father had dropped him at the school at around 8:30 AM and returned home, after the family had returned from a pilgrimage to Tirupati and Hyderabad on August 18. The boy had not been sent to school on August 19, said a press release from Vishakapatnam police.
On August 20, the school management called the boy’s father and informed him that the teacher had reprimanded him for not completing his homework after returning from a family trip. The school authorities later informed the family that the boy had collapsed.
The school authorities shifted the boy to King George Hospital (KGH), where he was declared dead, said the press release.
Police said the father described the boy as “gentle, timid and easily frightened”.
“Upon reviewing the school CCTV footage, it was seen that the child collapsed and died while the teacher was scolding him, due to his highly sensitive mentality,” it said.
The boy’s relative said the six-year-old was a sensitive child and became frightened after seeing the teacher beat and scold other students.
When the teacher called him, he was already visibly scared.
When the teacher questioned him about homework, she allegedly spoke aggressively and pulled him towards her by his clothes, increasing his fear and distress, said the relative.
“In the video, there is 100 percent fault in the teacher’s conduct,” he told PTI, referring to the footage of the incident.
The family was in deep grief and has not taken a clear position on the incident, while rumours of the matter have caused further distress.
“There are rumours that the school gave the family money to settle the matter, but the family has not taken any money,” he said.
The family member said such rumours were adding to the family’s distress, as they were already mourning the death of the child.
He said the school management had reportedly stated that action would be taken against the teacher, but the family remained unaware of details.
The matter should now be dealt with by the government and higher authorities, said the relative, seeking appropriate action.
He alleged that police had visited the family and obtained signatures on documents without explaining the details.
“The family has neither taken money nor done anything wrong. They are yet to come to terms with the loss of the child,” he said.
Asked about the video, the relative maintained that the teacher was completely at fault and said the footage clearly showed misconduct.
Police conducted an inquest over the boy’s body on August 20 and a medical officer conducted the post-mortem examination before handing over the body to the relatives.
The post-mortem report is awaited and the exact cause of death will be ascertained after receipt of the report from the Pathology Department of KGH, said the press release.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Nara Lokesh termed the death of the boy as “deeply distressing”.
He assured legal action against those responsible as well as the concerned school management.
Lokesh expressed his deepest condolences to the boy’s parents and urged them to remain strong, saying that no one could compensate the loss they had suffered.
“Our government will stand by you in every possible way,” he said in a post on ‘X’.
Similarly, the School Education Department said the incident was “extremely unfortunate and distressing”, and the government was taking it very seriously.
“Immediately after the incident, the concerned School Education Department officials conducted an inquiry and submitted a preliminary report. Based on the preliminary report, a three-member committee has been constituted to comprehensively examine the facts,” the department said in a release late on Thursday.
The committee comprises the Visakhapatnam Regional Joint Director (RJD), District Education Officer (DEO) and Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO).
A case was registered under section 194 of the BNSS, which deals with suspicious death. PTI MS STH ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.