Around 120 students belonging to the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Telangana’s Raghunathpally mandal in Jangaon district were allegedly beaten by a teacher for washing their hair when the school was reportedly facing a water shortage.
The incident, which took place on Monday, came to light on Tuesday after a complaint was filed by child rights organisation Balala Hakkula Sangham (BHS). BHS said students from Class 6 to Class 9 had injuries on their hands after they were allegedly beaten with a stick.
Speaking to TNM, Achyuta Rao from BHS said, “We learnt that special officer Sumalatha, who is in-charge of the school and residential hostel, beat around 120 students who had washed their hair on Holi festival on Monday.”
“We immediately notified the Jangaon Collector, following which she assured us that the special officer will be suspended and an inquiry would be initiated,” he added.
Achyuta demanded that a case should be registered against the officer under provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Section 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Speaking to reporters at the school, one of the students said on Tuesday, “She (the special officer) hit us with a stick. She hit students from Class 6 and Class 9 for washing our hair. Generally, we do it on Sunday. But since Monday was a holiday, we washed our hair.”
While the special officer defended her move telling local media outlets that there was a water problem in the school, the students denied it.
“She didn’t tell us anything. If she would have told us not to wash our hair, we would not have done so. If there was water shortage, why did they ask us to wash our clothes after we ate our tiffin?” one student asked.
Parents complained that their wards were not even given any medical treatment after the beating.
Despite multiple attempts, TNM could not reach Jangaon Collector K Nikhila.