A priest in Dakshina Kannada district has been booked under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Tribe (prevention of atrocities) Act after he allegedly assaulted a student who studies in a school he heads.
According to The Times of India report, the complainant, Prema M alleged that Father Vishal Monis hit her son, who studies in St Anna English Medium High School in Kelarai with a cable wire for not having done the homework. The incident happened on November 5, however, the complaint was registered on Friday.
In the complaint, Prema reportedly goes on to say that Monis, the principal of the school, also asked Prema’s son to join a Kannada medium school if he was finding it difficult to understand English.
However Monis refuted the allegations and said that he was being targeted by some people because there is a land dispute involving the church.
"I have been looking into a land dispute involving the church. A few people, who are not too happy about this, have created this problem. They have used the student as a bait, and registered a fake complaint,” said Monis.
Monis admitted that the student was earlier studying in a Kannada medium school and was finding the English medium difficult, reported TOI.
"We admitted him into the English medium school, free of cost, since he had an excellent academic record. However, he couldn't cope with the change in the medium of instruction. He also came late to class often," Monis said.
He added that the boy was absent for long periods after which he had to be counselled by the school authorities.
"He was also not attending to his school work. When I spoke to him in this regard, he told me that he wanted to return to Kannada medium. So, I asked him to seek admission at a Kannada medium school, which was close," Monis added.