The headmistress and a teacher of a government school near Coimbatore have been booked after a Dalit student, aged 8, who defecated in uniform, was allegedly made to clean the school’s toilet.
The Class III student was then forced to wash his stained clothes and made to stand outside the classroom to sun-dry the clothes. The headmistress and the teacher also allegedly ill-treated the boy’s mother when she came to the school to pick up her son.
The incident happened at the Government Elementary School at Semmedu on March 29. According to the complaint lodged by the boy’s mother with the police, he had nature’s call while attending class around 10.30 a.m. Though the boy rushed to the toilet after informing class teacher M. Thangamari, 46, he stained his uniform before reaching the toilet.
On the instructions of the teacher, the boy cleaned the toilet and washed his clothes. Then, the teacher made the student sit outside the classroom until the uniform was dry, the women alleged.
When the woman came to the school in the evening, Thangamari advised her to ensure that her son went to the toilet before coming to the school. When the boy’s mother questioned the teacher, the latter asked her to leave the place saying parents do not listen to any of the advice. The teacher further told the woman that she was not having peace at home or at school because of people like her. As the teacher was talking to the boy’s mother, headmistress M. Jayanthi, 47, came in and told her that she had lunch only at 3 p.m. because of her son and she was getting vomiting sensation after seeing them, said the First Information Report.
The woman alleged that her son did not go to school for the next two days as he was asked to sit alone in the classroom on the afternoon of March 29. She lodged a complaint with the Alandurai police.
The police booked Jayanthi and Thangamari under Sections 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, read with 3(1)(r) (intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of the SC/ST in any place within public view) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Monday.
V.V. Thirumal, investigating officer and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Perur), said a probe was under way into the allegations.
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